GAL 



: 




' 1 1 ■ 

111 



Hfik 



mm 



m\ 



v&EJL 



8Hf 



Rtfft? 1% 



l! 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS, 

ffratuPAQi ww 1 o. 

Sbelf..,.C£. 



UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 



^Es^. 



wm 



1 



UNIVERSALISM 



AND 



Problems of tie Univergaligt Ctmrcli: 



OR, 



A STATEMENT OF OUR DOCTRINES, THE REASONS FOR 

PREACHING THEM, THE CAUSES RETARDING 

THE GROWTH OF UNIVERSALISM, 



AND 



t LIBRARY] 

a plea for better methods; |[of congress; 

[washing :gn. 



A DISCUSSION OF THE WORK OF TOE CHURCH 



AND THE DUTY OF THE LAITY: 



Hints and Helps for Pastors, Officers, Teachers, and Parents, on the Organization 

and Management of Sunday-Schools, and on Teaching 

and Governing Classes. 



EDITED AXD COMPILED 



f <? ; i h, 



WILLIAM FROST CRISPIN. 



AKRON, OHIO: 
Beacon Publishing Company, Printers and Binders. 



V 






'V 



<\ 



K 



& 



Copyright, 
W. F. Crispin. 

1888. 



ERRATA. 

Page 29, line 6, read "John xi:15," for "vi:15." 

Page 32, line one, read " strait gate ", for " straight and narrow gate;". 

Page 58, line 2, read cast "off" for cast "of." 

By mistake Gen. 17:1, Page 45, and Matt. 19:17, are quoted from A. V. 
instead of E. V. 

Page 288, line 12, read "1780," for "1783;" also inline 13, "Relly," for 
"Relley." 



PREFACE. 



Several years' travel for denominational institutions has 
led us to believe that there is much lack of system and 
method in conducting many of our churches and Sunday- 
schools ; and we have long felt that a hand-book, giving 
the experience of those long engaged in the work, would 
be welcomed by our people, especially by Officers, Teachers, 
Parents and Pastors. To this it seemed desirable to add a 
discussion of the work and methods of the church. To this 
came also the suggestion that a statement of our doctrines 
be given — not a mere intellectual presentation, but one 
showing the obligations growing out of these doctrines. 
Yet, owing to a feeling of distrust of our ability to properly 
prepare such book, it is not likely the attempt would have 
been made had not a long and tedious convalescence sug- 
gested the work as a means of diverting the mind away 
from the ailments of the body, and furnished an excuse for 
the undertaking. Such as it is the book is sent forth with 
the hope that its friendly offices will be accepted in the 
spirit of brotherly-kindness ; and that some slight benefit 
may accrue to our church thereby. 

By collating the wisdom and experience of those having 
large practical knowledge of the work, we serve the cause 
better than by giving our own personal experience. The 
book is designed for learners rather than for the learned ; 
yet in the excerpts and chapters from leading thinkers and 
workers among us, all may find food for reflection, and some 
hints which may prove helpful. It is arranged with a view 
to meet a three-fold need : (i.) For Instruction in Doctrine 
and Duty. (2.) For Reference and Aid to Teachers, Officers 
and Pastors. (3.) For Missionary uses. 

W. F. C. 

Akron, Ohio, June, 1888. 



CONTENTS. 



CHAPTER I. 
Who Are You ? And what is Your Life? 

Friendly appeal to the reader.— Are you a Universalist ?— Mere denial not 
Universalism.— Do I study my Bible.— Are you an " evangelical " Christian ?^ 
Meaning of " evangelist ".—Glad tidings at birth of Savior.— Can we be happy 
in heaven while friends are absent in hell ?— Opinion of Dr. Beard.— Impossi- 
bility of being happy while others are damned as shown by Whittier's Divine 
compassion.— Is the reader a skeptic?— Cause of doubt.— Legitimate sphere of 
•doubt —Hume and Descarte.— Evidence on the side of Christianity.— Faith 
and works.— The true motive.— Activity a necessity.— Why we fall by the way- 
side.— Millions outside of church blessed by it.— The church the conservator 
of society.— God a Father.— Restitution of all things Pages 1-12. 

CHAPTER II. 

What is Universalism ? 

Opening: remarks.— Universalists test their doctrines by the Bible. — What 
Universalism is not.— Universalism not understood.— Early schools of theol- 
ogy taught it.— Universalists classed as unbelievers.— Universalists are Chris- 
tians.— Profession of faith. — Believe in God, Bible, Christ, immortality and hu- 
man duty.— May change profession of faith.— Holiness and true happiness in- 
seperably connected.— Salvatiou-from what?— Partialism teaches failure on 
God's part.— Universalism admits no failure.— Belief in Christ, His Divinity, 
but not Deity. — Disbelief in Trinity. — Belief in the ordinances.— Belief in the 
" At-nne-ment ", but not in vicarious sense.— Belief in prayer, repentence, 
conversion, forgiveness. — Disbelief in probation, Endless hell, total deprav- 
ity, personal devil, satan.— These terms defined.— Punishment-its nature and 
office.— Death no bar to God's love.— Punishment after death.— Kolasis.— A ion- 
Aionios. translated everlasting, eternal, etc.—" Eternal life."— Words denoting 
immortal and happy existence of the soul, are, Akataluton, Amarantos, Ama- 
rantinos, Aphtharto. Athanasia.— The resurrection.— The judgment-day. Pages 
13-42. 

CHAPTER III. 

Bible-Proofs of Universalism. 

Wordsworth on calamities of life.— God is infinite in g odness, power, wis- 
doii and love.— Evil, sin.— Chauncey Hare Townsend's view of evil.— Univer- 
salism the ' key" that attunes discordant worlds to harmony. — Sin to be de- 
stroyed.— Man subjected to " vanity "-why ?— Salvation is from sin.— The 
devil and his works to be destroyed.— God will not cast off forever.— The pur- 

Jose of punishment.— God's mercy to unbelievers.— All families, nations, 
indreds, and languages shall serve him.— A gospel feast for all nations and 
peoples.— All things to be gathered in Christ.— All shall worship him.— Objec- 
tion answered.— " All will not come to Christ."— God the Savior of all men.— 
Christ the Savior of the world —God shall be all in all.— God will do all his 



CONTENTS. 



pleasure. The "dead" shall be raised incorruptible.— " Restoration of all' 
things."— The Avonderful vision of St. John.— The consummation of Christ's; 
work.— There will be no more curse Pages 43-58. 

CHAPTER IV. 

" If Universalis*! is True Why Preach It ? 

F. ar a wrong motive in religion.— Universalism should be preached-because 
it is true.— Because the Bible teaches it.— Because reasonable.— Because it 
says God is a Father.— Because it teaches the brotherhood of man.— Because it 
is a missionary doctrine.— Because it honors God, and places a right value 
upon man. Because it presents right motives for our conduct.— Because it 
proclaims certainty of punishment.— Because superstitious belief causes many 
to reject the Bible.— Because it explains the dark problems of life.— Because it 
is a doctrine of hope.— Preach it that the masses may be benefitted bv it. — 
Do we hide our light?— Or do we let it shine for the good of others?— The- 
call which Christ is making— Shall we heed it?.., Pages 59-70. 

CHAPTER V. 

Shall We be Revived? 

Remarks by Gospel Banner and Rev. E. F. Temple Pages 71-77.. 

CHAPTER VI. 

Are We too Sectarian? 

Introductory remarks.— Opinion of Dr. Sawyer and Rev. Alvord..Pages 78-84. 

CHAPTER VII. 

Relation of the Church to the Poorer Classes. 

Chicago "Interior" on evils in great cities.— London Times on the church 
and London poor.— Dr. Holland on self-seeking.— Christian co-operation.— 
Canon Farrar on " The Nation " Pages 85-91. 

CHAPTER VIII. 

Relation of Church and Pulpit to Drink Traffic— The Sunday Question 
and the Wine Question. 

Appeal to church and pulpit.— North and South sold themselves, -politically, 
to slavery.— Another great evil threatens us.— Drink habit doubled in 26 
years.— Shall we put it away.— If Ion a delayed may overwhelm us.— History of 
Cato and Carthage —Carthage of intemperance must be destroyed.— the 
Catholic Examiner on the drink habit. — Prohibition will prohibit— Tem- 
perance people must unite in one party.— 70.000 gallons of liquor sent with 
every missionary.— Bishop Mallalieu.— Beecher.— The Sabbath question.— The- 
communion wine question.— Opinions of Dr. Ellis and Rev. J. S. Palmer. 
Pages 92-106, 

CHAPTER IX. 

Relation of our Colleges to our Church. 

An educated ministry.— Bible study.— Give it a chance along with Shakes- 
pere, Milton and Darwin.— Loyalty to our colleges and loyalty of our colleges. 
Our colleges should be feeders to our divinity schools.— Do they ta'-e proper 
denominational care of our youth ?— Christianity should be fostered by Chris- 
tian colleges.— The Bible should be used in moulding lives and characters of 
students Pages 107-1 1L. 

CHAPTER X. 

Conditions of Success for the Universalist Church. 

Dr. Sweetzer on above theme.— Our church must be progressive.— Our 
thought must be Christian .—Work with earnestness.— Must have wise 



CONTENTS. Vll 



methods— Must be a missionary church.— Must be thoroughly organized.— 
Must have financial liberalitw— " A Neglected Duty ".—Remarks of Dr. At- 
wood .' Pages 112-122. 

CHAPTER XL 

The True Motive of Missionary Effort. 

Partialists claim the only motive.— Fear of hell not the true motive.— There 

is no hell but sin.— Sin a present hell.— The real motive is zeal for humanity. 

Pages 122-129. 

CHAPTER XII. 
Ocr Young Peoples Missionary Associations. 

An address by Rev. C. Ellwood Nash Page 130-141. 

CHAPTER XII. 
Opportunities of the Association. 
By Grace F. White.— Preamble and articles 1st and 2nd of the constitution. 
; Pages 142-146. 

CHAPTER XIV. 
Church Organization. 
Mr. Win. II. Trickey on above theme.— Pleads for thorough organization, 
but only few iron-clad" rules.— There should be plenty of committees.— Give as 
many as possible responsibility and a chance to work.— Recognize those in 
humble life.— Financial matter discussed.— Must look after the "littles'*. 
The envelope system.— Joining the church.— Relation of pastor and people.— 
Story showing importance of prompt payment of pastors Pages 147-152. 

CHAPTER XV. 
Management of the Business Affairs of a Parish. 
Ara Cushman on the above theme.— More business needed in religion.— 
Managers should have it definilely understood when pew rents or subscrip- 
tions are due.— should increase itie resources.— Shuuld not go beyond what 
the people can afford, etc., etc Pages 153-160. 

CHAPTER XVI. 
Organization and Management of Sunday-schools. 
Right way and wrong way. — Method, order, svstem, needed.— The ideal 
Snnday-school.— Plan of organization.— How to" teach.— What to teach.— 
Preparation.— Illustration.— Primary teacher.— The cherry teacher.— Teach 
how to study.— Qualification of teachers.— How to dismiss.— How to secure 
punctuality.— Numbers. — Study your scholars.— Visit your scholars.— The 
superintendent.- Helping to Christian decision.— Class and pew.— The model 
teacher. —Concerning substitutes —Pastors and superintendents.— Helping the 
superintendent.— Superintendent and pastor in the school.— Politeness.— Be 
punctual.— The child in the church.— Parental example.— The dead Bible 
class.— Not worth raising.— Encourage the children in church-going.— Visit 
other schools.— Example.— Care for all.— Outcrv against the Sunday-school.— 
Prizes may be useful ." Page 161-200. 

CHAPTER XVII. 
State and Local Work. 
The circuit system.— State superintendent.— His work.— Our opportuities.— 
An organizer and leader.— Missionary and executive phases Page 201-209. 

CHAPTER XVIII. 
What Thikk. Ye of Christ? 

Sermon by Rev. Everett L. Conger Pages 210-214. 

CHAPTER XIX. 
The Pclpit. 
Christian Advocate on aim to be attractive.— Mr. Laing on the ministry.— 
Weakness and power of pulpit.— Preach Christ.— The standard for minister 



Vlll CONTENTS. 



and layman.— How to preach.— Effectiveness.— Preachers who wear out.— 
Diffusive preaching.— Keep the faith.— Directness.— Pastoral visits.— Keep out 
of ruts.— Moral power.— A word to ministers.— Why don't the pastor come.— 
Pastoral and sermonic habits.— Humor and sermon Pages 21&-236 

CHAPTER XX. 

The Choice of a Profession. 

What the ministry'says to those selecting their life work, by Rev. Everett 
L. Conner Pages 237-247. 

CHAPTER XXI. 
The Work of the Laity. 
Sermon 'by the late Rev. J. G. Adams, D. D.— Woman's Centenary Associa- 
tion Pages 248-261. 

CHAPTER XXII. 

The Conference and Prayer Meeting. 

By Rev. John S. Palmer, and Rev. W. F. Potter Pages 268-262. 

CHAPTER XXIII. 
The Bible and how to Read it. 
Passage from North British Review on the Bible.— Rev. O. I. Darling on 
how to read the Bible Pages 263-273. 

CHAPTER XXIV. 
Debt of Religion to Science and Debt of Science to Religion. 

By Rev. James Freeman Clarke, D. D -Pages 274-281. 

CHAPTER XXV. 
Church Statistics and Church Records. 

By Rev. H. W. Rngg.— Faithful record needed Pages 282-287. 

CHAPTER XXVI. 
Causes Retarding Growth of Univehsalism and a Plea for Better 

Methods. 

Prelimary remarks.— Early teachers of Universalism. — Universalism first 
organized, 1780.— Murray and Relly in London.— Murray ia America, 1770.— 
If true why preach it.— Our National sin of African slavery.— Slow growth of 
anti-slavery sentiment.— Slow growth of temperance.— Cowper on the growth 
of that which is excellent.— Self-seeking hinders reform.— Catholicism and 
Inquisition.—" Vox populi, vox Dei ", false, — Christianity of slow growth.— 
Lovejoy, Garrison and Phillips.— Ignorance and prejudice.— False doctrines.— 
Christianity corrupted,— False claims made for the Bible.— Martin Luther and 
the reformation. — Fear retards religious progress. — Andover Missionaries and 
the heathen.— The " safe " side. — Other hinderances— Controversial preach- 
ing —Rebound from " Orthodoxy ".—Prejudice against Orthodox methods. — 
Heresy that Universalism was merely to leaven other churches.— Our present 
church polity. — These four causes produce apathy, delay church polity, etc.— 
Universalism the heart of the gospel.— Skepticism and lack of agressiveness. 

Universalism in other churches.— Statistics of Universalism for 1887. Pages 

288-306. 

CHAPTER XXVII. 

Religious Miscellany. 

Christ and the heathen philosophers.— Blank form of application for church 

membership.— Winchester Profession.— Covenant of the Akron church. — Days 

of special observance.— Every day a fresh beginning.— Why this longing. — 

There is danger.— The tapestry weavers —Be true— Has thy brother fallen ?— 

Always a river to cross.— The wine cup Pages 307-316. 

Index.— 217. 



INTRODUCTION. 



Looking backward through a quarter of a century, 
during which time the writer has watched with a -lively 
interest the progress of Christian Universalism, all who have 
taken note of the advanced religious thought of our day, 
must be impressed with the fact that that system of relig- 
ious truth which the word, Universalism, gives name to, 
and symbolizes, has withstood all her foes and now goes 
marching on, honey-combing all other Christian bodies 
with her god-honoring and soul-cheering faith. But on the 
other hand it goes without saying that the Universalist 
Church has, by no means, made that orga?iic progress, 
which could have been made, had a more self-sacrificing 
spirit, wiser counsels and better methods prevailed among 
us. This means that while Universalism has borne the 
crucial test of the most profound biblical exegsis, and the 
most rigid investigations of science, there is yet much to 
be learned as to the best methods of presenting and 
propagating this doctrine. 

We need to be instructed on many matters concerning 
the successful management of churches and Sunday- 
schools, that we may secure greater continuity of Christian 
endeavor and greater efficiency and more enduring results 
in organized work. There is lack of system in supplying 
churches with pastors, and in organizing and sustaining 
pastoral circuits. There are too frequent changes in the 



X INTRODUCTION. 

pastoral relation and too many pastorless churches. 
Where lies the difficulty ? Our doctrines, when rightly 
apprehended, are sound and true ; but are they thus appre- 
hended by all ? Is it not quite obvious that many of us are 
but nominal Universalists, having failed to grasp our doc- 
trines in their most vital form ? And yet may not such be 
renewed in mind and spirit when we come to learn the 
secret of the kind of preaching they need ? And have we 
required a sufficient amount of doing at the hands of the 
laity ? 

Does it not occur to us that one of the best ways to 
interest people in an important matter is to give them some 
portion of the work to do ? Ought not many more of our 
laity educate themselves for the work of the Sunday- 
school, become students of the Bible, fitted to teach classes 
and make themselves more useful and efficient in every 
department of church work ? Ought they not be assigned 
more frequently to take part in the conference and prayer 
meeting ? Is not a working laity one of the essentials of a 
v ell regulated church ? And will it not give life and 
efficiency that can no where else be found. Our church 
has been a great leader in exegetical reform ; and has done 
a work that is incalculable for good upon the Christian 
thought of the day ; and these labors have crowned her 
with honor and glory. But a yet grander work awaits the 
Universalist Church that is to be, provided she is but faith- 
ful to the great and precious truths, which it has been her 
peculiar privilege to proclaim, for the encouragement, 
inspiration, and help, of a sin-sick race. 

With a large hope for the future of the Universalist 
Church, borne of a trust that we shall soon adopt better 
methods and cultivate greater faithfulness ; and without any 
criticism of the past, except so far as that may enable us 
to take our bearings in accordance with the white light of 
experience ; and to the end that our achievements, hence- 



INTRODUCTION. XI 

forth, may be more nearly commensurate with the great 
and holy gospel we preach : we are led to say that the fact 
that we have secured such meager results in organized 
Universalism, during these twenty-five years, stirs the 
blood about our heart and fills us with deep anxiety for 
better fruits, at no distant day. We are not insensible of 
that real progress, made since the adoption of our present 
polity ; but we regard our efforts as falling far below what 
we ought to have accomplished ; and we yearn for greater 
achievements, in the near future. But the problem is : 
How can this be done? There are many answers which 
might be given. Perhaps agitation is the open way to 
ascertain this great secret. If so ; if agitation will put us 
in possession of this important factor by all means let the 
waters be troubled until they give forth the right answer. 

II. 

In thus reviewing the situation, at large, many questions 
arise for discussion, on which cur church and the public 
need to be instructed ; questions which touch the vital 
interests of our church, and have a range and a sweep wide 
as humanity itself. Among the questions which occur to 
us, we present the following : Amid the destruction of 
mediaeval and unreasoning faiths, now fast passing away, 
has Universalism that religious vitality which will enable it 
to take the helm and guide society, and through society, 
the Nation, successfully against all that horde of insatiate 
evils which brood in, and infest every quarter of the 
globe ? Can its influence be so extended and widened that 
it shall become the salt of the earth? Will it be able to 
confront the doubt and disbelief which runs riot in the sin 
and wickedness of the age? Will it supplant the old 
faiths with grander achievements in the reformation and 
moral uplift of the world ? Are we doing what we can to 
bring its moral power to bear in all the channels where its 



Xll INTRODUCTION. 

influence may be felt for good ? Are not the forces of our 
church largely latent as yet ? And if so, when and how- 
may these latent influences be best developed? What of 
the missionary spirit among us ? What proportion of our 
people are deeply interested in missionary enterprise, either 
home or foreign ? What is the secret of the most success- 
ful church extension among us ? 

What are the agencies for the propagation of truth ? Is 
truth, religion, Christianity, self-propagating? Have we 
but to fold our arms and wait to see the salvation of the 
Lord? What of evolution? — Is it a cause or a method, 
only ? Is evolution such an intelligent, vital force, as that, 
independent of the agency of man, right results may be 
predicated thereon ? Is man of no value as a civilizing 
agent ? Rather is not man the divinely appointed agent 
of the Most High in the furtherence of His plans? Can 
truth be propagated except as man becomes a co-worker with 
God? Do not many of the adherents of our church hold 
false views of Optimism, such that it leaves man as a 
moral agent out of the question and predicates all moral 
advancements upon God alone ? Or, worse yet, do not 
some regard Evolution as the sole force in working out and 
shaping our destines ? Has man nothing to do in working 
out his own salvation? Do not the Bible, Reason and 
Nature all agree in holding man morally accountable ? 
Are not Nations destroyed, cut off from the earth, because 
they forget God, become degraded, wicked ? Wherein is 
the Pessimist, who fancies every thing going to the bad, 
more delinquent than he who deludes himself with that 
opposite and most mischievous view of Optimism which 
complaisantly puts aside all ethical questions and imagines 
that "whatever is, is right," in the unrestricted sense, and 
praise and blame are words of no particular significance ? 

These questions we conceive to be closely related to the 
thought and work of the Universalist Church ; and, when 



INTRODUCTION. X11I 

critically examined they must enable us to see more clearly 
the wide range and scope of the work before us. And do 
they not suggest to us that the time is near at hand, when, 
if we would maintain for our church a proper respect 
among the more enlightened Christian people, that we 
should engage more heartily in the work of saving men 
"from this present evil world"? Have not some of us 
gone to sleep because we are depending upon our Heavenly 
Father, or upon Evolution, to secure right results, inde- 
pendent of our own action? Or is the final salvation the 
only salvation that is of importance? Have we not need 
to put forth greater effort for present salvation. Did Christ 
come to establish His kingdom on earth ? Or is it for 
some other sphere of existence? Seriously, do we not 
need to imbibe more of the missionary spirit and arouse 
ourselves to greater earnestness ? Must we not make a 
better and more general use of our young people in carry- 
ing forward our work? Our young people have not been 
trained and utilized as they should have been. 

Young People's Missionary Associations should spring up 
in every city and parish wherever we have young men and 
and young women willing to aid in extending the gospel of 
love to the perishing classes of earth. Our church must 
not be content to move in the old and beaten paths when 
new highways are opening up, along which people are fam- 
ishing for the bread of life. 

She has won laurels in her opposition to slavery and to- 
day is battling manfully against the drink-traffic. But for 
want of better and more general organization, and the 
infusion of a thorough-going missionary spirit, her hand of 
blessing is often withheld, and her power for good cut 
short. Unless our church is an example " in thought, feel- 
ing and action ", in all that pertains to the good of human- 
ity, her boast of superiority of faith will mock her lack of 
Christian zeal ; for by their fruits shall ye know them, is as 



XIV INTRODUCTION. 

true of churches as of individuals ; and more especially 
will the " fruits " be anticipated by those who hear our 
claim of possessing the best conceptions of God and of 
human duty. 

III. 

What is the province of doubt ? While doubt has its 
value and proper sphere in the investigation of theological 
dogmas and the search for truth, yet should we not be wary 
how we deal with this subject? Does not the ventillating 
of their doubts become chronic with some ministers to the 
great detriment of our cause ? And, when doubt becomes 
their " chief stock in trade ", ought not professional honor 
and honesty enable them to see that the door, by which 
they came into the ministry, has an outward swing, also ? 
We know of no successful Christian church with Christ left 
out ; and sincerity is, also, an indispensable quality in the 
preacher. If doubt would uplift and better man's condi- 
tion then we would welcome doubt as we would welcome 
every other good agent for good. But doubt, disbelief, as 
such, has a blighting and withering effect. Disbelief, of 
itself, is destructive. Disbelief, has no inspiration, no 
motive to summon it onward and upward, nothing to nerve 
its hand to do and dare for the good of our race. 

Faith in God, in Christ, in immortality, in the triumph 
of good over evil, supplemented by belief in human duty 
— these when they become positive convictions that possess 
the soul and dominate the man — these alone wield highest 
power for good ; and without some such incentive, human 
progress were impossible. Faith in all that is good, uplift- 
ing and helpful, must largely dominate ourlives before we 
will consent to treat our fellow man as our brother and our 
neighbor as ourself. Without the high ideals of Christ, 
toward which we struggle, all life must become selfish and 
sordid, and society be bereft of the Christian and humane 
institutions which rear their walls heavenward for the pro- 



INTRODUCTION. XV 

tection of the aged and infirm, the poor and needy and 
suffering of every Christian land. Must there not, then, 
be a greater emphasis upon the preaching of faith, then 
upon doubt ? An intelligent, unswerving faith in God, 
Christ and immortality ; and that all evil will be subordi- 
nated, overthrown, while " every good deed receives its just 
recompense of reward" — shall not this be the song our 
prophets sing to inspire our people to " go forward ", 
instead of dealing mainly in negations ? And vital piety 
— must it not permeate and animate our Zion from center 
to circumference? On this foundation alone can true 
success crown her with the chaplet of praise. 

So long as we are a Christian church our progress must 
not be progress away from Christ, but progress in Christ 
and 2, faithful following after him. He must be our leader, 
our great Captain ; and His life and teaching must give 
inspiration to every sermon and every song ; and His love 
and work for humanity must be exemplified in us. Are we 
in danger of preaching Christ too much ? We think not. 
He lived the gospel He preached, and is therefore, the 
example of men, and must furnish the incentive to thrill 
our hearts with noble ambitions and generous enterprises 
for the good of man. If we would reanimate our church, 
if we would regenerate men, the forces of our church must 
be consecrated to the work of cultivating vital Christianity. 
Less than this will result in a mere social organization 
which will fall immeasurably below the mark of our high 
calling. 

IV. 

Our church bears the name of being progressive ; and, 
in a large measure this is true ; but in the use of the best 
methods it is not so in fact. We ought to be progressive in 
the truest sense. Our faith is such that it ought to enable 
us to be abreast of the times in all that is good and help- 
ful in extending and making permanent the cause of the 



XVI INTRODUCTION. 

Master as we understand it. But for some reason we do 
not concentrate our forces nor wield them to effect the 
best results. In some directions our work drags where it 
ought to soar. We seem to undervalue our abilities and 
our opportunities. We talk of this enterprise and that, 
and are enthusiastic in adopting them ; but when it comes 
to execution of our plans the wind is pretty much out of 
our sails. We mean by this that we do not achieve that 
large measure of success of which we are capable. We 
believe the doctrines we hold are a prophecy of far grander 
achievements to come, than any the past has witnessed. 
But to accomplish this, to teach, to guide our forces, to 
spread abroad the gospel of glad tidings, and build up an 
enduring work, these forces must be organized in the most 
effective way, in every state, city, village, and hamlet, where 
it is possible to do so. 

In the best and truest sense, then, we need a " new 
departure". Our church must not be timid and faint- 
hearted and hesitating ; but emboldened by the truth, let 
her put on the whole armor of God and persistently and 
valiantly fight the battle for truth and righteousness. The 
work of yesterday had its joys and its triumphs ; but the 
work of to-day is a nobler work because it is to be more 
constructive. Where we have already taken the " old 
forts" of "Orthodoxy" we should not blaze away at them 
with our Krupp guns as though they were still in the 
possession of the enemy. Where they have not yet sur- 
rendered let the bombs of truth be hurled into their moss- 
covered sides, always guided by the " sword of the spirit", 
until they capitulate ! But let the war be against error and 
sin, "with malice toward none and charity for all ". Fight 
false doctrines, and wrong and sinful conduct, but do not 
fight churches nor individual Christians. Our work is to 
plant the truth and supplant error, that good lives may 
result therefrom. Let us preach the gospel with greater 



INTRODUCTION. XV11 

unction. Let both the minister and the layman ask : 
Lord what wilt thou have me to do ? Let a more fervent 
spirit take the place of a too secular spirit, and then, and. 
then only, may we hope for such results as of right should; 
crown our efforts. 

V. 

The gospel was intended for earth, and yet millions of 
earth 's people are perishing for want of any practical know- 
ledge of it, while other millions have no knowledge of it 
whatever! The command: " Go ye into all the world 
and preach the gospel ", loses none of its force because we 
do not believe in an endless hell, though Joseph Cook says 
disbelief in that doctrine would "cut the nerve of mis- 
sions." When Universalism shall be accepted in its true 
spirit, as a system of faith, by any large number of people- 
whose forces are properly organized, as is not now true, 
save of a handful, comparatively, its advocates will not 
then limit their labors of love to their own locality or their 
own land ; but they will recognize the world as none too 
large a field for the operations of so broad and stalwart a 
faith as that of the L'niversal Fatherhood of God and the 
L'niversal Brotherhood of man. And it is for the purpose 
of trying to awaken a deeper religious fervor among 
Universalists, in behalf of needy and suffering humanity ;. 
and in behalf of the L'niversalist Church as a great agency 
in improving the condition of man, that we appeal to Uni- 
versalists, everywhere, to let nothing which they can do, or 
refrain from doing, stand in the way of the on marching of 
organized Universalism. Not merely for the sake of 
organization ; but because only through organized effort 
can we accomplish the great mission which of right 
our church should undertake. Why, dear Universalist 
friends, live active churches, doing the work of earnest 
Christian bodies, ought to be planted in many hundreds of 
cities and towns throughout this country, with a cordon of 



XV111 INTRODUCTION. 

Y. P. M. A's from Maine to California ; and nothing short 
of our indifference and half-heartedness will prevent this 
from being done within the next decade. Let us, then, 
arouse ourselves and take fresh courage and inspiration 
from the self-sacrificing devotion of the Master ; and 
without longer delay let us have results somewhat com- 
mensurate with the sublime truths which we hold. 

W. F. C. 



CHAPTER I. 



Who Are You ? And What Is Your Life ? 



Kind Reader, who are you who come to consult these 
friendly pages concerning what Universalism is and why 
it should be preached ? Are you a Universalist ? and if so, 
on what grounds do you lay claim to so sublime a faith ? 
How do you classify yourself among believers in that doc- 
trine ? Are you active or passive ? Are you a Universalist 
in name, merely, and satisfied with a mere denial of the 
effete dogmas of partialism ? Or have you positive convic- 
tions of the successful unfolding of God's plans in the 
salvation of the entire race of man ? If you believe Uni- 
veralism, how do you believe it? Do you believe God will 
save us, independent of our own earnest desire and effort to 
be saved ? These questions are asked because many profess 
to be Universalists who know little, if any thing, of Univer- 
salism as a system of doctrines, or as a moral power. They 
hold it as a mere sentiment, perhaps think it plausible, or 
perchance, have accepted some false theory concerning it, 
which they have learned from its enemies. Certainly they 
have not let its vital truths touch their hearts. " As 
a man thinketh in his heart, so is he.' 1 Pro v. 23:7 "For 
with the heart man believeth unto righteousness.' 1 Rom. 
x:io. Mere denial, mere negations, do not make one a 
Universalist. Doubt, disbelief, agnosticism, form no part 
of that system of faith, known as Christian Universalism. 
" Prove all things ; hold fast that which is good. 11 1. Thess. 
v:2i. This scripture shows that we are to strive to know 
the truth and to hold fast to it. Doubt, disbelief of the 



2 WHAT IS UNIVERSALISM ? 

false, the hurtful, the wrong in principle, is a duty ; but that 
which is true, that which is right in principle, we are to ad- 
here to and practice. Do you, then, come with a sincere 
purpose, seeking to have your faith renewed, your hopes 
strengthened, your zeal requickened, your life enriched and 
made better by the contemplation of the sublime truths of 
Universalism ? If so, let us trust that your efforts shall not 
be in vain, that your prayers and your faithful research for 
the truth shall be abundantly rewarded, and that you may 
receive renewed inspiration for the great and blessed work 
which the Universalist Church is called to do in behalf of 
mankind. For such this book is specially prepared. It is 
well for us, occasionally, to take account of our spiritual 
stock, to re-examine our faith, to see if we are living up to 
its requirements, to see whether we are allowing its truths 
to impart to our lives that true flavor of divine love that 
sends us with alacrity on errands of mercy in preventing 
and relieving the sorrows and suffering of our fellow-men, 
or whether we are still living on the lower planes of life. 
Is my life a blessing to myself and those around me ? Am 
I doing works meet for repentance ? Am I a laborer in the 
Master's vineyard ? Am I doing what I can to help and 
bless mankind ? Do I make a proper use of the church as 
an agency to better the world ? Do I believe in the utility 
of the church ? And thus believing am I doing what I rea- 
sonably can to sustain it ? Have I equipped myself as best 
my circumstances will allow, to become a teacher in the 
Sunday-school, or a useful member of the church or parish ? 
Do I aid my pastor, if I am fortunate enough to have one, 
in his arduous labors to build up the walls of our Zion ? 
Do I study my Bible as devoutly as I study Shakespeare, 
or Darwin, or Huxley, or any other valuable book ? And 
if the head of a family do I teach my children to love and 
reverence the Bible for the sublime truths it contains ? Do 
I accustom myself to lift my voice in prayer to my Father 



AN APPEAL TO THE READER. 3 

in heaven who created and sustains me, who watches over 
me with more than a mother's solicitude ? Am I living in 
conformity with the great and blessed principles which 
underlie the gospel of universal love ? Do I believe, in my 
heart, the truth of Universalism : that God's infinite attrib- 
utes are a pledge that he will save the whole world of man ? 
And am I doing here and now what I can to help on this 
work ? These are serious questions which as Universalists 
we ought to ask ourselves that we may see whether we are 
living up to our high privilege of being " co-workers with 
God" in redeeming the world from ignorance, sin and 
crime, into the glorious gospel of love and good will and 
helpfulness ; or whether we are mere driftwood on the 
shores of time ; whether we are living a mere animal exis- 
tence, living without any high aims and purposes in life. 
Or, if not a Universalist 

Are You An " Evangelical " Christian ? 

That is, do you belong to one of those churches which 
assume to lay exclusive claim to the name " evangelical" ? 
If you do, you are kindly asked to lay aside all bias and all 
prejudice, which are so hurtful, and so hinder the progress 
of truth ; also you are asked to lay aside your precon- 
ceived opinions of Universalism, unless you know that 
you have received them from some trust-worthy source; 
for many enemies of this doctrine have gone out into the 
world and have basely misrepresented its teachings. Many 
Christian pulpits have lent themselves to this unholy work 
and thus large numbers have been arrayed against it be- 
cause they have been taught to look upon it in a false light. 
You say you are an "evangelical" Christian; but what is 
the significance of this term ? Who has best right to this 
title ? Who are "evangelists "? The word gospel — from god, 
good, and spell, speech, or news — answers, we are told to the 
Greek euangelio?i, Latin, evangelium, and means "a good or 



4 WHAT IS UNIVERSALISM? 

joyful message." To be an evangelist, then, means to be a 
teacher of "good news." We have this record of what 
took place at the birth of our Savior : "And there were in 
the same country shepherds, abiding in the field, keeping 
watch over their flocks by night. And lo, the angel of the 
Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone 
round about them, and they were sore afraid. And the 
angel said unto them, Fear not : for behold, I bring you 
good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people." 
Now "good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all peo- 
ple," is the angelic message which Universalists, alone, 
proclaim to the world, while the sects who flatter them- 
selves that they have a sort of patent right to the name, 
"evangelical," announce no such "good tidings." True 
they proclaim a Savior, but in their view he is but a. partial 
Savior, only a Savior of a part of mankind ; and hence the 
"good news" which they bring cannot be " unto ad peo- 
ple. " These believers in this imperfect Savior have done 
good and proclaim some " good news," but much bad 
news, news that is appalling ! They say that God and 
Christ will not succeed in saving all ; that millions upon 
millions of his children will not be saved ; and hence will 
live on through the ceaseless ages of eternity, suffering in- 
tense agony ! Kind reader, does this seem to you like 
"good tidings of great joy"? Caw you be happy in such 
belief? Does not your very soul cry out against it? Could 
you be happy in heaven while your wife, your husband, 
your parent, your child, your friend, were wailing in 
the regions of despair? And yet this is the ghastly, 
ghostly, nightmare which the so-called "evangelical" 
creeds teach ! Can you accept it as in any sense " good 
news " that families shall be broken in heaven, friends 
separated, and doomed to such unequal conditions ? 
" Friend after friend departs ; 
Who hath not lost a friend? 



AN APPEAL TO THE READER. 

There is no union here of hearts 
That finds not here an end." 



<: That one-half creation is to know 
Luxurious joys, and others only woe, 
And so go down into the common tomb 
With need to question their unequal doom — 
Shall we give credit to a thought so foul ? 
Ah, no ! the world beyond — the world beyond ! 
There shall the desolate heart regain its own ! 
There the oppressed shall stand before God's throne ! 
There, when the tangled web is all explained, 
Wrong suffered, pain inflicted, grief disdained ; 
Man's proud, mistaken judgment and false scorn 
Shall melt, like mists, before the uprising morn, 
And holy truth stand forth, serenely bright 
In the rich flood of God's eternal light ! " 



The impossibility that one soul can be happy while 
others are suffering the agonies of the damned, is set forth 
by the loved Quaker poet, Whittier, in his "Divine Com- 
passion", which asks : 

Is heaven so high 

That pity cannot breathe its air ? 

Its happy eyes forever dry, 

Its holy lips without a prayer ? 

My God, my God, if thither led 

By thy free grace unmerited, 

No crown, no palm be mine, but let me keep 

A heart that still can feel, and eyes that still can weep. 

But possibly the reader of this book is 

A Skeptic, 

Or a disbeliever of some sort ; and if so, what helpful word 



6 WHAT IS UNIVERSALISM ? 

have we for him? Dear friend, we shall not attempt to 
argue you into belief. Perhaps you have fed and cultivated 
the doubts that come occasionally to you, as they come to 
all. Instead of feeding your faith and starving your doubts 
you may have reversed this order and your doubt or disbe- 
lief has come as a consequence. We usually get what we 
seek after in this life. Often we are unconsciously sowing- 
seeds of doubt and are surprised when we reap what we 
have sown. " Be not deceived ; God is not mocked : 
for whatsoever a man soweth that shall he also reap.'" 
Gal. vi :j. If we diligently seek after earthly treasures 
we shall no doubt reap them, but as we reach forth our 
hands to possess them, they often crumble into nothing- 
ness compared with the verities of eternal life. And too 
great love for these earthly possessions will dwarf our nobler 
faculties and leave us to testify to our own spiritual naked- 
ness. What then, seekest thou? Dost thou seek truth? 
Then it shall enrich thy life with holy purposes. But 
he who cultivates doubt of God and distrust of his fel- 
lows lays a snare for his own feet. True there is a care 
and judgment to be exercised in our dealings with men, 
but God can be taken at his word. There is a legitimate 
sphere of doubt and that is in the realm of truth-seeking. 
To doubt, as did Hume, that he might appear learned, 
( which he confessed), that he might entertain and amuse 
the disputants and scholars, this is a most reprehensible 
practice and is fraught with peril to one's self, inducing a 
morbid state of mind and often ends in doubting every- 
thing, as it did in Hume's case. Every faculty of man may 
thus be blasted by want of faith in the possibilities of his 
own nature. But if one doubt only to rid himself of the 
false and attain to the true, as did Descartes, whose prayer,, 
as he journeyed to the shrine of the saints, was: "O God, 
show me the truth, then we have found a right use of doubt.'" 
To find the truth, then, should be our constant effort, and 



AN APPEAL TO THE READER. 7 

having found it never to part with it. It is the pearl of 
great price, and we should hold fast to it, always. To thus 
doubt is to help the world to higher attainments and nobler 
achievements. 

Christian people who weigh their statements do not say 
that they know beyond the possibility of a doubt that 
Christianity is true. But the great preponderance of evidence 
is in support of the life and teaching of Christ, and they are 
so well adapted to man's needs in this life, so true to the law 
written in his own heart, and are so well attested by those 
who have walked most closely in the footsteps of the divine 
Master, that we cannot refuse to accept them. If you are 
troubled with doubts you may test the doctrines of Christ and 
know for yourself whether they be true or false. Jesus said 
we might know whether his doctrines were true, whether 
they were of God, by doing them. By living the principles 
he taught, by letting these great. truths dominate our lives, 
we shall prove that they are true and that they make for our 
highest good. It is not mere assent that will enable us to 
understand their worth and verify their truth. Faith and 
works combined is what will give true knowledge of the doc- 
trines of Christ. And so we say with Whittier : 

" The man who can live apart 
From work, on theologic trust, 

We know the blood about his heart 
Is dry as dust." 

Work in the Christian life is what we all need in order to 
develop our human sympathies. Work in any honest calling 
is a blessing and not a curse, as we are apt to suppose. 
Work has a great saving influence, while idleness is the 
dead sea that swallows up all virtue and is the self-made 
sepulcher of living man. Labor is divinely appointed for 
man's good. " In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat 
bread." But work, in instructing the ignorant, healing the 



8 WHAT IS UNIVERSALISM ? 

sick, comforting the afflicted, lifting up those who are cast 
down — this is what cultivates within us more and more as 
we labor on, that same love and divine compassion for the 
great mass of shepherdless people which the Savior had, 
and that caused him to "go about doing good." And we 
are to keep on working if we would keep the love principle 
alive and active. The motive power in all good works is 
love and love is ever active. And love, guided in wisdom's 
ways, whose ways are pleasantness and whose paths are 
peace, will lead the possesser beside the still waters and 
into green pastures that delight and feast the soul. Jesus 
came that we might have life and that we might have it 
more abundantly. He did not mean more animal life. 
Most of us have plenty of that ; but very few have a suffi- 
cient amount of spiritual life. The life Jesus came to im- 
part is the life he lived — the good life — or life of doing 
good. A Christ-like life of love and sympathy and help- 
fulness to mankind — this is the kind of life that will give 
us the greatest possible joy. There is joy or pleasure in 
all useful labor if performed in the right spirit ; but espec- 
ially in the exercise of the religious faculties, in helping 
and blessing others, is .there true joy. But oh, how our 
groveling selfishness and short-sighted vision stand in the 
way of our acceptance of this truth ! Experience, then, is 
the highest and best test of religion ; but unless some ray 
of divine truth penetrate to the heart, and find lodgment 
there, it is doubtful if this test be made. " My son give me 
thy heart" is the divine command, and if we will but yield 
obedience to this behest and let out heart's affections go 
out to that God of infinite perfections and let his loving 
hand lead us, believing that when we have done the best 
.we know, that all things shall work for our good — this is, 
dear reader, the only faith that can fully reconcile us 
to God. 

We must not expect to "go to heaven" "on flowery beds 



AN APPEAL TO THE READER. Q 

of ease," for most, if not all of us, must, in this life, en- 
dure hardships and temptations : but in the light of what 
has been said we may understand that these are the agen- 
cies which our heavenly Father uses to discipline us and de- 
velop the nobler man within. It is implicit faith in the 
good providence of God that must ever keep us and sus- 
tain us. It is on this line then, that we who doubt must 
solve the problem of the truth or falsity of the doctrines of 
Christ, and when we have done this, we will be able to say 
with the poet : 

" I see the wrong that round me lies, 

I feel the guilt within ; 
I hear with groan and travail cries, 

The world confess its sin. 
Yet in the maddening maze of things, 

And tossed by storm and flood, 
To one fixed stake my spirit clings — 

/ know that God is good / " 

But let us remember that the time when doubt enters and 
robs us of true spiritual joys, is when we become inactive in 
the Christian life. O, how many, by cutting loose from the 
church, because they love ease, and have despised labor, 
because they performed it "in the letter," and not "in the 
spirit," have betaken themselves to a narrow and sordid view 
of life and have missed the true joy of living ! In order 
that we may not weary in well-doing we are required to 
keep our religious faculties exercised. In spiritual matters 
the laws are as inexorable as elsewhere. If the organist 
who has learned to master Beethoven's divine symphonies 
shall cease to exercise the muscles and chords that guide 
the fingers in the production of those ravishing strains of 
music, his hands will soon forget their cunning and grad- 
ually will fade from the musician's soul those exquisite 
sounds of harmony that once enchanted his heart and 



IO WHAT IS UNIVERSALISM ? 

swept a thrill of joy through his whole being. And so it is 
in the realm of religion. It is activity of the religious fac- 
ulties that keeps them attuned to the melody of the soul. Ac- 
tivity alone will brighten all our spiritual faculties and 
heighten all our joys. No wonder so many of us fall by the 
way-side. No wonder so many tire of church work and be- 
come cold and indifferent. No wonder there are so many 
dead and dying churches. It comes of selfishness. It 
comes of wrong motives. It comes of viewing work in a 
wrong light — viewing it as mere drudgery. It comes of 
killing the true spirit of labor. It comes of spiritual idle- 
ness. And that individual, or that church, that does not 
learn to love the Christian work for the sake of mankind, for 
the sake of doing good, will soon be left to feed upon 
husks instead of the vintage of the Lord. Dear reader, the 
world is full of sadness, sorrow and suffering ; but this 
comes mostly of our ignorance and our refusal to be rec- 
onciled to the ways of God. The world needs you and me 
as laborers in doing the work of the Master, in removing 
ignorance and superstition, in comforting the afflicted, in 
helping to carry this gospel of love to the sorrowing, the 
poor and needy. Will you not open your heart and extend 
a hand of beneficence toward the perishing classes of earth 
and help to put in motion those influences which tend to 
make us all better by leading us to listen to that diviner 
voice within, bidding us "come up higher " and live in a 
nobler, purer atmosphere ? How shall the world be made 
better ? How shall society be improved and sorrow and 
distress be relieved unless you and / do our part ? The 
world has claims upon us which we can not shift to other 
shoulders. Mankind is a common bundle of imperfec- 
tions, each needing the sympathy and help of the 
other. Each has the right to demand that the other shall 
so live as to make society better. You want me to help 
you, if I am your neighbor, in educating all the children in 



AN APPEAL TO THE READER. II 

your vicinity, so that your children may have intelligent 
associates and so that the society shall be good, and your 
town a good place in which to live. Now the church is 
working to this same end, only on a higher plane, in a 
nobler way. Wherever the church has gone its influence 
on society, on civilization, has been most marked. The 
beneficence of the church has shone beyond its members 
and adherents, until millions outside the church have been 
helped and blessed by its influence. What a safeguard is the 
church in society ! Who that has enjoyed its advantages 
would be willing to surrender it ? Or who would desire to 
live in a land where churches are not ? And yet how many 
there are in this country who enjoy its blessings without 
contributing any thing, in either money, or labor, to sustain 
it. Oh, what ingratitude ! How many waste their sub- 
stance "for that which is not bread" and then say they 
cannot afford to contribute to the support of the church ! 
Why even our patriotism should demand that as good cit- 
izens, desiring the. prevalence of law and order, of peace 
and harmony, we should befriend the church as the con- 
servator of the highest public good. Shall we not stand by 
this divinest agency for the enlightenment and betterment 
of man ! Why even if the grand hopes which the Uni- 
versalist church proclaims, were but a dream, a beautiful 
dream and nothing more, there could be nothing more be- 
neficent and helpful so long as these hopes are cherished 
as realities. And when rightly understood, Universalism 
inspires the human heart with courage and fortitude to do 
and dare for the uplifting of the race. It softens asperities. 
It assuages griefs. It explains the dark problems of life 
and speaks peace to the troubled soul by presenting a God 
who is an infinite Father and Friend, whose providence is 
working out, through the sorrows and afflictions and besct- 
ments of life, the highest good of all His children ! And so 
we invite you, kind reader, to the further consideration of 



12 WHAT IS UNIVERSALISM? 

the claims of Universalism — what it is and why it should 
be preached — not for the sake of controversy ; but because 
we want its principles better understood and more gen- 
erally practiced, well-knowing that it is only as the truth is 
accepted and incorporated into our lives, in our relations to 
the world about us, that mankind are to be lifted up and re- 
newed in the spirit of Him who spent His life in the service 
of man, to instruct, guide, and inspire all with high resolves 
and noble purposes, to do good and hate evil, to "walk 
humbly, deal justly and love mercy," and thus develop and 
prove the grand possibilities of our own god-given natures, 
instead of being the enemies of God and of our own souls. 
Whatever your belief or disbelief, whatever your life may 
be, whether Christian or pagan, "Orthodox" or skeptic, 
Universalist or agnostic, these pages gladly welcome you to 
a friendly examination of the claims of that faith which 
teaches the "restitution of all things, spoken of by the 
mouth of all God's holy prophets since the world began." 
Acts 111:21. 



CHAPTER II. 



What is Universalism ? 

If the reader has carefully examined the initial chapter 
of this book he is prepared, we trust, to enter upon the 
study of Universalism with a mind untrammeled by any 
thing which would prevent him from forming a calm and 
judicial opinion concerning its truth or falsity. Probably 
no other body of Christians have been more commonly mis- 
understood, misrepresented and spoken against than those 
who " both labor and suffer reproach because we trust in 
the living God who is the Saviour of all men, especially of 
those that believe," ( i. Tim. iv:io) ; and on this account 
the task of presenting these doctrines in such manner as to 
enable the enquirer to see them in their true light, is all the 
more difficult. Let us assume that the reader has divested 
himself of bias against the faith we are now to honestly 
consider ; and that he will cheerfully accept the Bible invi- 
tation : " Come, let us reason together," and it shall be our 
pleasant duty to "give a reason for the hope that is in us," 
with becoming " meekness and fear." 

The special doctrine of Universalism which distinguishes 
it from all other interpretations of Christianity is that of the 
final holiness and happiness of the entire race of man. 
The reader is referred to the Scriptures exhibited in the 
next chapter, as some of the many proof-texts of Univer- 
salism that bestud almost every page of Holy Writ, and 
these are submitted with the remark that if Universalism 



14 WHAT IS UNIVERSALISM t 

was not intended to be taught by these prophets and apos- 
tles, and especially by Christ and Paul, then were they 
strangely careless in the use of language ; for if the doc- 
trine of an endless hell were true these Scriptures should 
have left no hint nor suggestion of the truth of Universal- 
ism ; but on the other hand they should have said, explic- 
itly, in language impossible to be misunderstood, that such 
a hope was baseless. Yea, if endless misery were true for 
any one of God's intelligent creatures all Nature should cry 
aloud in tones of thunder to warn us. Her myriad voices 
should echo and re-echo it. It should gleam in colors of 
livid light along every human pathway and all of Nature's 
happy voices should be hushed in dread stillness in view of 
such a doom. The very sky should gleam and glare in 
living words of fire to forewarn us of such an amazing 
catastrophe ! But, thank heaven, no such fate awaits us, 
no such God is over us ; but on the other hand the gospel 
tells us to be " always ready to give a reason of the hope 
that is in us." I. Pet. 111:15. But tn i s hope, this distin- 
guishing feature of Universalism, which proclaims the final 
holiness and happiness of all, gives no clear conception of 
that system of religious truth of which Universalism is but 
the crowning result. Universalism — a most comprehensive 
word, to be sure — is used merely to symbolize the doctrines 
and give name to the sect ; and the name must not be mis- 
taken for the system of faith, else we shall do violence to 
the cause of truth. The system of doctrines concerning 
God, the Bible, Christ and his work, man, his duty and 
destiny, as held by Universalists, is set forth in its essen- 
tial features, in their Profession of Faith, adopted at Win- 
chester, N. H., in 1803. Universalists fully believe that 
the Bible clearly reveals the doctrines they hold, and while 
they appeal to reason and cite the intuitions of man's own 
nature, and the beneficence of God as seen in the works of 
Nature ; yet they are willing their doctrines shall be 



A STATEMENT OF THE DOCTRINES. 15 

tested by the Bible standard, in the full and assured con- 
viction, that upon careful study and investigation, a 
judgment that is not warped by preconceived opinions, will 
see these truths inscribed on almost every page of the Holy 
Scriptures ; and be led to wonder why the world has been 
so slow to perceive and accept their truth, set forth as they 
are, in such variety of ways, "by all God's holy prophet 
since the world began." Acts 111:21. This truth shines 
forth in allegory, in parable and in texts innumerable ; 
but the sheet-anchor of the doctrines of Universalism is 
found in the nature and character of God. God is the rock 
of their defense ! 

What Universalism is Not. 

Universalism is not a doctrine which teaches that man 
has no part in his own salvation, as some have charged ; 
but on the other hand, it teaches that Christians are to be 
"co-workers with God.' 1 "We then as workers together with 
Him, beseech you, also, that you receive not the grace of 
God in vain." 11. Cor. vi:i. "Faith without works is dead." 
Ja. 11:20. "Work out your own salvation with fear and 
trembling." Phil. 11:12. And we try to cultivate that "faith 
which works by love." Gal. v:6. 

Universalism is not a doctrine which teaches that men 
will be saved "any how," nor "in their sins," as its enemies 
have said ; for there is but o?ie "how " known among them 
whereby we may be saved, and that is by the appli- 
cation of the Gospel to our own lives. The key-note to 
the preaching of John, the herald of Jesus, was Repentance. 
And that which distinguished the first utterances of Jesus 
of Nazareth, as they rang out upon the plains of Galilee, 
was this same significant word, " Repent." " Repent, for 
the kingdom of heaven is at hand." At one time the 
Master would forge a sentence which seemed to make all 
hang upon faith and faith alone. And faith, if rightly 



1 6 WHAT IS UNIVERSALISM? 

apprehended, yields all the other Christian virtues. But 
since men see only half-truths, or see but imperfectly, 
what he saw with an unclouded vision, it was necessary 
that at another time the doctrine of works be held up as 
the one thing needful in his system of religion. And as 
there are those who try to press into the kingdom through 
a "dead" faith or " faith without works", so there are 
others who seek to enter on the score of "works" that 
they be "seen of men", but such are unworthy to enter, 
their motives being impure. Hence the Savior went at 
once to the root of the matter by seeking to purify the 
source of man's conduct — the heart. "Repent !" Reform^ 
"for the kingdom" of "righteousness, peace and joy," 
"is at hand"; and the only open avenue into that king- 
dom is through the heart, through right thinking, and right 
feeling, culminating in right action. It is upon the line of 
faith, repentance, reformation, works of love and right- 
eousness, that our salvation, either here or hereafter, must 
be wrought out. Universalism says that while man may 
delay his own salvation, he will, at last, yield willing obedience 
to God ; that he will tire of feeding upon the "husks" of 
error and wrong ; that the Gospel, aided by his own exper- 
ience, will at length throw such a vivid light upon his folly 
and sins that he will " come to himself " and when " in 
his right mind", will return to the Father's house, and be 
fed with truth and clothed with righteousness, peace and 
joy, in believing and in doing the Father's will. 

Where Universalism is not understood, (and O, how 
many there are who have no true knowledge of it !), people 
look askance at it. Many who have never examined its 
claims condemn it as rank heresy. But the fact remains 
that the real truths of Universalism have been withheld 
from the masses, while some base caricature of it has been 
held up to the public view. 



a statement of the doctrines. 1 7 

Universalis^ Not a New Doctrine. 

Universalism is thought by many to be a new doctrine, 
but it was clearly taught by Christ and his Apostles. (Luke 
ny: 4 - 7 , 8-io, 11-32 ; xx: 3 7, 3 S ; John vi: 3 7- 39 ; I. John 
iv:i-i; Eph. 1:9, 10; I. Tim. 1:15; 11 : 1-6 ; iv:io ; Acts 
111:21; I. Cor. 111:15; xv:22-28, 49-54; Gal. 111:8 ; Rom. 
¥111:38,39; xr.25-36; Heb. 11:9 ; vni:io-i2 ; Phil. 11:9-11 ; 
Rev. v:9-i 3 : XXH4). Universalism was also made spec- 
ially prominent during the third century, by one of the 
most pious, most learned, and most renowned, of the early 
church fathers — Origen.* ' And Dr. Edward Beecher, 
brother of the late Henry Ward Beecher, a few years ago, 
wrote a book, giving an account of the several schools of 
theology, prominent in the early centuries of the Christian 
Church, in which he published to the world the statement 
that a careful study of the subject had disclosed to him 
the fact, that during those early centuries, there were six 
schools of theology, and that of these six, four taught the 
doctrine of the final salvation of ail men, while one taught 
the doctrine of the annihilation of the wicked, and only 
one taught the doctrine of the endless punishment of the 
wicked ! It is clear, then, that the early exponents of 
Universalism, in this country and elsewhere, were not 
inventors of a new doctrine, but discoverers and revealers 
of a very old doctrine — a doctrine, old as Christ, yea, a 
doctrine which was held in the counsels of the Divine 
mind before the world was. No: Christ himself was but 
the revealer of truth. Universalism is a truth old as crea- 
tion. God was always the Father of His children. He 
always loved them, always desired their highest good. 
He loved all men into being and He lovingly sustains 
them, and can never permit one of them to get beyond His 
love and care. 



■See Mosheim and other sacred historians. 



1 8 what is universalism ? 

Universalists Classed as Unbelievers. 

Universalists are sometimes classed with unbelievers and 
infidels. Sensational pfeachers, revivalists, and so-called 
evangelists, frequently resort to such falsification when 
dealing out their vials of wrath to frighten people into 
"making their peace with God." But this kind of preach- 
ing is not common like it was twenty-five years ago. The 
flames of hell are not half so vivid now, and Universalism 
has gained such a respectable standing that the local 
preacher seldom alludes to it in uncomplimentary terms, 
and rarely uncaps the "bottomless pit", for the average 
congregation is too intelligent to accept old-time portrayals 
of that hideous dogma. But why should Universalists be 
classed as unbelievers ? Universalists are Christians and 
believe more than any other class of religionists ; and their 
belief is more intelligent, more reasonable, and more 
scriptural. They have a larger hope, a stronger faith, than 
any other Christians. Let us see : the Partialist believes 
only a part of mankind will be saved, while the Universalist 
believes that God and Christ, will, at length, be wholly 
successful in saving the world ! Who then has the most 
faith? The Arminian believes that God wills the salvation 
of all. The Calvinist believes all will be saved whom 
God wills to save. The Universalist, believing what these 
together believe, is called a heretic ! Thus, because we 
take God and Christ at their word, because we do not 
doubt them, but believe that they will triumph over evil, 
these "evangelicals" cry out against us! Who then are 
the skeptics ? 

But what is Universalism ? " To the Law and to the 
Testimony : if they speak not according to this word it is 
because there is no light in them." Isa. vni:2o. We now 
introduce the inquirer to our " Profession of Faith " 
which reads as follows : 



\ statement of the doctrines. 1 9 

Universalist Profession of Faith, 
article i. 

"We believe that the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New 
Testaments contain a revelation of the character of God, 
and of the duty, interest and final destination of mankind. 

ARTICLE 11. 
We believe that there is one God, whose nature is love, 
revealed in one Lord Jesus Christ, by one Holy Spirit of 
Grace, who will finally restore the whole family of mankind 
to holiness and happiness. 

ARTICLE III. 

We believe that holiness and true happiness are insep- 
arably connected, and that believers ought to be careful 
to maintain order and practice good works ; for these 
things are good and profitable unto men. 

I. It will be seen, first, that Universalists believe in the 
Bible. They do not, of course, understand it as most do. 
But they reverently study its pages and accept it for all it 
claims to be. They do not accept the theory, still held by 
many, and formerly held by the mass of Christians, that 
every word, syllable and letter is inspired. In fact belief 
in the plenary inspiration of the Bible is now abandoned 
by many, if not most, of the best biblical students of all 
denominations. To say the least, all educated theologians 
use "helps" or commentaries; and these "helps" all 
recommend certain verbal changes to correct errors in the 
translation from the Greek and Hebrew ; and they explain 
away much of the literalness formerly held as the only 
passport to " orthodoxy." By common consent the Bible 
is undergoing frequent revision, in whi r h whole passages 
have been rejected as spurious, not being found in the 
earlier and more reliable manuscripts, and many other 
changes have been made to convey to the modern reader a 



20 WHAT IS UNIVERSE LISM ? 

more accurate meaning of what the Bible writers intended, 
than could be done through idioms of speech, and obsolete 
words and phrases, with which the average person is unfa- 
miliar, and whose apparent meaning is often calculated to 
mislead. These facts ought to put to silence all those who 
say " Universalists do not take the Bible as it reads." Such 
talk is but idle assertion and should have no weight with 
intelligent people. Due allowance must be made for the 
glowing imagery and the poetry of the Bible, as well as the 
times and circumstances under which it was written. Not- 
withstanding all these facts Universalists insist that the 
Bible is true \ that when rightly understood its teachings 
are reliable ; that the principles laid down in the decalogue 
and elsewhere in the Old Testament; and more .especially 
in the New, are sound and just ; that all the Christian cen- 
turies have but served to verify their unspeakable worth to 
man ; and hence they come to us with the supremest 
authority known upon spiritual matters. "We believe", 
says this Profession of Faith, "that the Holy Scriptures 
of the Old and New Testaments contain a revelation." 
Not that each of these is a revelation ; for much of the 
Old is mere history, and no claim to inspiration is made 
concerning that portion. 

Universalists have regarded the translation of II. Tim. 
in- 1 6, in the Authorized Version as inaccurate, and the Re- 
vised Version translates the text : " Every scripture 
inspired of God is also profitable for teaching, for reproof,, 
for correction, for instruction which is in righteousness : 
that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly fur- 
nished unto all good works," instead of "All scripture is 
given by inspiration, etc.," as the King James version reads. 
The' Profession continues : "We believe that the Holy 
Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments contain a 
revelation of the character of God, and of the duty, 
interest, and final destination of mankind." 



A STATEMENT OF THE DOCTRINES. 2 1 

II. "We believe there is one God" — not a trinity of 
Gods — not "three Gods in one", each being "very God"; 
for no mathematics can demonstrate it, and such a confus- 
ion of terms is incomprehensible. To the Universalist the 
Bible clearly teaches that there is ONE God, and but one ; 
that He is the Creator and Supreme Ruler of the Universe j 
and that His nature is love. "God is love," (John iv:i6.) 
and anything in His dealings with men — His children — ■ 
which seems to imply anger, is to be regarded as but 
another manifestation of His love ; for we are taught that 
His chastisements are for our profit. (Jobviiy, 18; Prov. 
111:11,12; Ps.xciv:i2j 0x1x167,71,75; Heb. v:8; XIH5-11J 
Rev. 111:19). 

This Article Second of this Profession further says that 
God is " revealed in one Lord Jesus Christ, by one Holy 
Spirit of Grace, who will finally restore the whole family 
of mankind to holiness and happiness." 

As to the word "restore", there are many among 
us who think this word does not fitly express the Uni- 
versalist belief. Since man never was perfect, and 
hence never fell from a state of purity equivalent to that 
of the saved in the spirit world, it is thought by this class 
that a better and more lucid statement would be secured 
by changing the word " restore " for "save" or "bring", 
or some equivalent expression, making the sentence read : 
"Who will finally 'save' all mankind", or, "Who will 
* bring' all mankind to holiness and happiness." Others 
think the present statement of belief is scriptural, and, 
although there seems a necessity to explain the language, 
to make it express clearly their belief; yet their reverence 
for this unique document, as a whole, forbids that they 
should favor the change. It is probably safe to say that 
the tendency is toward a change, but there is no haste. 
Lack of willingness to change does not appear to stand in 
the way, so much as the difficulty there is in remodeling, or 



22 WHAT IS UNIVERSALIS*! ? 

recasting the Profession of Faith, in such way as to meet 
the concurrence of the mass of believers. And notwith- 
standing the discussion has been continued through a series 
of years in the press and in the General Convention, an 
excellent spirit prevails; and there is probably no other 
denomination to-day, in which there is so much unanimity 
of belief ; for it does not appear from these debates that 
there is any marked difference in belief ; but the difference 
is rather in the manner of statement than otherwise. 

God the Father of All Men. 

Universalists also believe that God is the " Father of the 
spirits of all flesh." (Num. 16:22.) Christ explicitly taught 
that God is the Father of all men, in many passages and 
parables, and in the Lord's Prayer; (Matt. v:i6, 45, 48; 
vi:i, 6-15, 18, 26-32 ; x:29-3i ; XXHL9 ; John 111:35 ; John 
xx:i7; Mai. 11:10); and the Bible is full of testi- 
mony to the fact that His dealings with mankind are of a 
fatherly character. The Fatherhood of God and the 
brotherhood of man are prominent doctrines of Univer- 
salism. This church stands almost alone in advocacy of 
these great truths of the Bible. Others have said He is a 
Father only of the regenerated ; but Universalism boldly 
avows and defends these truths as universal and funda- 
mental. Certainly no truth will do more than this to make 
the world humane ; and the lack of a realization of it 
"makes countless thousands mourn." It needs iteration 
and reiteration. It needs to be burned afresh upon the 
forehead of the world as was done by the Christ eighteen 
hundred years ago. 

III. Article Third affirms that "holiness and true happi- 
ness are inseparably connected, and that believers ought to 
be careful to maintain order and practice good works ; for 
these things are good and profitable unto men." 

We have here, in this Profession of Faith, in small com- 



A STATEMENT OF THE DOCTRINES. 23 

pass, the declaration that Universalists believe in God, in 
Christ, in the Bible, in a blessed immortality for the whole 
race of man, together with the further statement that 
" holiness and true happiness are inseperably connected and 
that believers ought to be careful to maintain order and 
practice good works." Thus Universalism italicizes the 
importance of both faith and works. 

The writer is sensibly aware that what a man professes to 
believe is no infallible index to his real convictions. A 
man's actual belief has a dominating influence upon his 
life, but to profess one thing and believe another, is a species 
of hypocrisy altogether too commonly indulged in, to the 
hurt of the individual who consents to thus act. The best 
test of one's sincerity is his life. " By their fruits ye shall 
know them," said the Master. And since this creed lays 
the stress upon "works" as well as "faith", it ought to 
yield the best possible results in producing genuine Chris- 
tian lives. 

A godly and well ordered life stands among Uni- 
versalists as the sine qua non of Christian Universalism ; 
yet it is barely possible, yea, quite probable, that on the 
godly side many of us fall far short of the true ideal. We 
shall not attempt to say that our practice does not fall be- 
hind our profession. We think it does. But this is true of 
all sects. Let us hope that hereafter our practice may 
overtake our professions. We speak now to Universalists. 
The writer, no less than the reader, should strive to reach 
this higher standard in the Christian life. Universalism 
says, " holiness and true happiness are inseparably con- 
nected ", and this being true, to be consistent, ought not 
Universalists strive earnestly to live holy lives ? This does 
not mean sanctimoniousness, nor the putting on a long face 
to appear religious ; neither does it imply that we should 
withdraw from the rightly constituted and rightly controled 
pleasures of life. The faculties of our natures are given 



24 WHAT IS UNIVERSALISM ? 

for use, but not for abuse. The point, then, is to so gov- 
ern these faculties as to use them as God intended ; to 
rule them and not let them rule us. But we are not to be 
content with negative goodness. Merely to refrain from 
evil, while we ought to do this, is not the .standard of 
excellence to which we should attain. We are not true 
disciples of Christ, are not truly saved, until we attain 
to positive goodness. Doing good when it implies also being 
good, is the chief excellence in the religon of Jesus. 

Although this Profession of P'aith is imperfect and unsat- 
isfactory to many, because of its lack of perspicuity in pre- 
senting some of the phases of Universalism, yet how unique 
and exceptional it is to all other attempts at creed-making ! 
No wonder it is reverenced ! No wonder, since this brief 
and comprehensive statement has come down to us, 
freighted with so many hallowed memories, and has be- 
come household words in so many Christian homes, that 
we should reluctantly part with it ! But we must not let 
mere sentiment stand in the way of real progress ; and if, 
after more mature deliberation, this document is found not 
to be reasonably explicit in stating the belief of Universal- 
ists, a change, will, no doubt, be made. The difficulty in 
giving a satisfactory expression to the crnvictions of so 
large a number of thinking people, will, however, prevent 
any hasty action in the case. The maxim, " make haste 
slowly ", is a wise one to follow in bringing about any 
change, or re-statement of our doctrines. 

Salvation — From What ? 

IV. The reader's attention is called to one of the most 
important features of Universalism which is quite com- 
monly falsified. While we have been accused of teaching 
that men go to heaven " in their sins" , it would be mani- 
festly impossible for one to accept this Profession of Faith 
and at the same time believe that men can be " saved in 



A STATEMENT OF THE DOCTRINES. 25 

their sins ". What is salvation ? What are we to be saved 
from ? Universalists believe salvation to be from sin and 
not from the consequences of sin. Neither punishment, 
which justly follows wrong doing, nor a hell of torments in 
a world to come, constitutes the thing from which we are to 
be saved. There is no warrant in the Bible for believing 
that Christ will save us from just punishment. To remit 
the punishment due the sinner would be to further spoil him. 
instead of saving him. Just punishment is the best thing 
that can come to any of us. And here is where " Ortho- 
doxy " does a most mischievous work in deluding people 
with the idea that they can do wrong, and by accepting 
Christ, escape the consequences of their evil deeds. " Ortho- 
doxy " teaches that all our good deeds count nothing, lit- 
erally nothing, in our salvation — and hence after a few 
hasty incantations, through fear of a hell in the world to 
come, they usually swing the murderer straightway into the 
enjoyments of the saints of God ! What a delusion and 
snare is such a doctrine ! How licentious in its tendency ! 
How false to the facts as presented by the scriptures, by 
reason and by experience ! " God will by no means clear 
the guilty." And this truth Universalism proclaims from 
the house-tops. 

Punishment is soul medicine to the sinner. It is 
what he needs and what his highest good demands. 
What ! a just God save us from just punishment ! Would 
that not be /"justice ? It would be cheating the sinner of 
his rights. God has ordained his laws, which punish wrong 
doing, for a benevolent purpose, and to abrogate them 
would signify that he is weak and mutable ; but we are 
assured that he is immutable. The whole of Universalist 
theology supports and rivets the doctrine that salvation is 
from sin ; hence, salvation in sin, is utterly at variance 
wiih the fundamental principle in this system. Universal- 
ism declares, "holiness and true happiness are inseparably 



26 WHAT IS UNIVERSALISM ? 

connected" and "the whole family of mankind" will be 
"restored to holiness and happiness." Salvation is here 
predicated upon holiness. To be brought, or restored to holi- 
ness in sin would be as impossible, as to be, and not to be, 
at one and the same time. Let no one delude himself with 
the unholy fallacy that by any manner of means he can- 
escape the just consequences of his own evil deeds. Pun- 
ishment will follow sin as certainly as that God is just and 
his words true. This is the gospel of Universalism ; yes 
the gospel, for it is "good news" to learn that all God's 
punishment will be for man's good. To be saved, in the 
Universalist view, is to be holy, and true happiness, here or 
hereafter, is dependent upon holiness, a state which we can- 
not fully attain to in this life. And who is it that is not in 
accord with God and all the holy angels in desiring that all 
shall become pure, loving, holy? Does any object to so 
glorious a result ? Do I hear some one say : " If every- 
body is going to heaven I don't want to go there"? Very 
well, such an one has no near prospect of that celestial 
condition so long as that uncharitable spirit which this lan- 
guage implies, dwells in his mind and heart. 

We shall all have a chance to remain out of the kingdom 
until all our selfish desires and unkind feelings are purged 
away. But sooner or later faith and repentence will have- 
done their perfect work and that "charity" which "never 
faileth " will come into our hearts and drive out all unholy 
desires. 

The Lord will "sit as a refiner and purifier of silver" 
and he will burn away all our ignorance and " consume " 
all the evil in us, and when this day of God's power comes 
to us, we will yield willing obedience, and be swift to enter 
into the kingdom of " righteousness, peace and joy," and 
will delight to welcome others there. This fiery trial will 
go on and on, until all have their sins purged away and be- 
come the loving disciples of our Lord and Master. Univer- 



A STATEMENT OF THE DOCTRINES. 27 

sal goodness and universal happiness is the goal toward 
which we are tending, as seen by Universalists. What bet- 
ter thing can God do than to convert all the bad men and 
women to be good and pure? Can any one stay his hand 
or shorten his arm that he cannot save all ? He has con- 
verted many of the most wicked to live godly lives ? Can 
he not complete the work he has undertaken ? Or is his 
purpose to be thwarted by finite man ? " He doeth all his 
pleasure in the armies of the heavens and among the in- 
habitants of the earth, and none can stay his hand or say 
unto him, what doest thou ?" Isa. God has committed the 
work of saving the world into Christ's hands and we are 
told that " he shall see of the travail of his soul and be sat- 
isfied." Isa. 53:11. 

Why suppose any failure on the part of God and 
Christ. Good men desire that all shall be saved. 
Is man better than God ? Will our Father in heaven 
do worse than to " transfer the inquisition to the 
next world and make it endless "? The goodness, the 
knowledge and the power of God make assurance doubly 
sure that no such dire event is possible. To say otherwise 
is to deny the plainest declarations of the Bible concern- 
ing his attributes, and reduces him below the character of a 
good man. And here is the crowning glory of Universal- 
ism. While Partialism teaches that God and Christ will 
make a stupendous failure, and dire calamity ensue, Uni- 
versalism proclaims that the work of regeneration will con- 
tinue until the last rebellious child, the last lost sheep, will 
yield willing obedience and be brought home to the heav- 
enly fold, amid the triumphant shouts of all the hosts of 
heaven \ Universalism admits of no failure on God's part,, 
no rent in the seam of his plans. The failures and mistakes 
are all of man's making, and out of these, the Everlasting 
Aims will at length lead us into Wisdom's ways and beside 
the still waters of eternal life. 



28 WHAT IS UNIVERSALISM ? 

V. Much more might be said concerning what Univer- 
salists believe, and wherein they differ from sister churches ; 
but the limits of a single chapter forbid more than a mere 
mention of the more salient features. 

Belief in Jesus the Christ — His Divinity, Not Deity — 
Disbelief in the Trinity 

Universalists believe in Christ, but do not believe he is 
■"very God " as " Orthodox " creeds usually teach. Uni- 
versalists quite generally, if not universally, reject the doc- 
trine of the trmifl^. There have been, and may yet be, 
trinitarian Universalists, but we do not know of such at the 
present day. We believe the doctrine of the trinity is now 
universally rejected among us. Christ made no claim that 
hie was God, but on the other hand, when charged with 
making himself equal with God, by calling himself the Son 
of God, he clearly denied that his language implied such 
claim, (John v:i8, 19 ; x:t,4-s6), and John the Baptist, the 
forerunner of Jesus, declares that " No man hath seen God 
at any time," (John 1:18 )j but if Christ were God, John's 
language would be false, for Christ had been seen by 
many. Christ was the image of God, but God and his im- 
age cannot be the same being. Christ was the Son of God, 
bit he could not be his own Father \ The only sense in 
which God and Christ were one was that of aim, purpose, 
a working together for the salvation of the world. 

The life and teaching of Christ form the very core of 
Universalism. If Christ be not risen our Christian faith 
is vain. Christ came to reveal God's love to man, to rec- 
oncile man to God, to bless him by turning him away from 
his sins and by leading him upward into a nobler, diviner 
life. Christ was divinely appointed and divinely sent to be 
our Teacher, or Exemplar, our Savior, the Mediator be- 
tween God and man, and is spoken of as the man, Christ 
Jesus. He was the son of the eternal God, but he expressly 



A STATEMENT OF THE DOCTRINES. 29 

declares that he was neither omniscient, omnipotent, nor 
omnipresent : for he says, Mark xniv:32 : (a) " Of that day 
and hour knoweth no man, no not the angels which are in 
heaven, neither the Son, but the Father; and John v.ig, 
(p) " The Son can do nothing of himself •" and John Vl:i5, 
(Y) " I was glad for your sakes / was not there ". But God 
possesses all these attributes. Though Jesus Christ is not 
God, his office is unique, his name is above every name, 
save God alone. He was illuminated with a spiritual in- 
sight and knowledge immeasurably beyond any other man. 
Though there have been other great teachers and reform- 
ers he overtops them all; His teaching includes and compre- 
hends all the good in all other systems of religion and sur 
passes them immeasurably in their lofty purity and in their 
scope and influence upon the world. His life and doctrines 
are simply matchless / 

Baptism and the Lord's Supper. 

L niversalists, as a rule, believe in the ordinances of Bap- 
tism and the Lord's Supper, but these are symbols which 
serve as aids to faith and spiritual life, a most excellent 
means of grace, but are not regarded as saving ordinances, 
without which one must forever remain out of the heavenly 
kingdom ! Nothing of the sort. But they are a means of 
turning our thoughts backward in remembrance of Christ 
upon Calvary, and upon the matchless life of love and self- 
sacrifice which he lived for the good of mankind. The em- 
blems of his broken body and spilled blood, move us to 
feel deeply the power of his example and stir us to nobler 
living. 

The Atonement. 

Our church believes in the atonement, but not in a vica- 
rious sense. Jesus suffered for us, but not in our stead. 
We once heard a good Presbyterian D. D. illustrate what 
Christ had done for us, in this way. Speaking to some 



30 WHAT IS UNIVERSALISM ? 

Sunday-school children he said : ".My young friends, I 
want to tell you what Christ has done for us. Let us sup- 
pose that we are a family. I am the head of the family 
and you are my children. I lay down rules for the govern- 
ment of my family, for the government of your conduct. 
But little Mary violates those rules. She is, therefore, 
guilty, and it becomes my duty to punish little Mary. She 
deserves the punishment, and good government requires 
that she pay the penalty for her wrong doing. I raise the 
rod to let the blow fall upon her back, when little Willie 
steps up to me and pleadingly says : ' Father, don't punish 
Mary, but punish me instead '!" 

Now this good doctor did not complete this fiction by 
saying that he actually punished innocent Willie and let the 
guilty Mary escape; and we more than half suspect that 
his own kind heart rebelled against the conclusions of the 
metaphor. His conscience must have smitten him and 
k:ept him from reciting the closing act of this drama which 
so miserably caricatures the conduct of our Heavenly 
Father. What parent could have such a heart of stone as 
to punish his innocent child as a satisfaction for the sins 
of the guilty one, who had violated his commands ? Mon- 
strous thought ! But is it not in keeping with that teaching 
which says that our heavenly Father has created His chil- 
dren, knowing they would transgress His laws, and be fore- 
doomed to an endless life of sin and pain ; and then, in 
order that they might have a possible chance of escape 
from this doom, He sends His spotless Son to be sacrificed 
on the cross, that his suffering might be counted instead of 
the punishment due to the guilty ? O, what a travesty 
upon the pure and undefiled religion of Jesus ! An infinite 
God represented as resorting to a subterfuge like this ! 

By how much would the child or the sinner be made 
better by escape from the just consequences of wrong do- 
ing ? How does punishing another for our sins, save us ? 



A STATEMENT OF THE DOCTRINES. 3T 

t 

Is this salvation? Is justice slain! Is mercy an empty 
name ! Out upon such ////^representation of " what Jesus 
did for us !" 

Romans y:ii, is the only place in the New Testament 
where the word atonement occurs and it is universally ad- 
mitted that it here means reconciliation, and it is so trans- 
lated in the R. V. Dr. Paige, in his commentary, says this 
was, formerly, the ordinary meaning of the word as is evi- 
dent from ancient usage. Christ came to reconcile manjo 
God, not God to man ; to make him at one with the Fa- 
ther, and they who attempt to support the theory of vica- 
rious atonement wrest the scriptures from their rightful 
meaning — the at-one-ment, or reconciliation. 

Prayer — Repentance — Conversion — Forgiveness. 

Universalis ts believe in Prayer, in Repentance, in Con- 
version, and Forgiveness. But prayer is not believed in by 
them as a means to placate God's wrath. Its purpose is 
to place us in right relations with God, by its reflex 
influence upon our hearts, preparing us to receive His 
blessings which are ever ready to descend upon the devout 
believer. Men should pray without ceasing, i. e. they 
should always have a prayerful spirit. Prayer is the soul's 
sincere desire whether uttered or unexpressed. Repentance 
is godly sorrow for sin and leads us to put away our sins, 
to reform our lives. Forgiveness, in the Universalist view, 
does not imply the omission of just punishment as com- 
monly taught. Forgiveness always follows true repentance 
and means that the forgiven, the penitent, is treated as 
though the wrong had not been committed, except that in 
no case does the Bible warrant us in the belief that by 
repentance we may escape just punishment for our sins. 
Conversion is such a change in our convictions of what is 
right and duty as to lead us to "cease to do evil and learn 
to do well." If we have been in the " broad road to ruin" 



32 WHAT IS UNIVERSALISM? 

it is to turn about and " enter in at the straight and narrow 
gate," to strive to " do unto others as we would have them 
do unto us," to love God and our fellow men as we love 
ourselves ; this is, at least, the high standard toward which 
the converted man should struggle, faithfully, day by day, 
and always. 

Probation — Endless Hell — Total Depravity — Per- 
sonal Devil — Satan. 
These dogmas are denied by Universalists as being 
fictions coming from the imaginations of a mediaeval 
age. "Devil" is merely a personification of evil. "Satan" 
denotes any adversary — an enemy. Man is a mixed being, 
with a tendency to evil, but with lordly aspirations for 
good. If man were totally depraved he would, not be worth 
the saving • but in the sight of God, man — even the 
sinner — is of priceless value ; and for this reason He sent 
His Son to suffer and die for us. If man were totally 
corrupt there would be nothing in him to save. What is 
wholly rotten cannot be purified. There is no man so bad 
but retains some spark of goodness. Man is created in the 
spiritual image of God, and that image is, and always will 
be, salvable. Man, as he comes from the Creator's hand, 
must be good, though not a perfect being ; and it is by 
practice that his powers and faculties are misdirected, 
perverted. Hells there are,, but they are here, in this life, 
and the sinner need not go to them; they will come to him, 
and will remain with him, to plague and torment him so 
long as he remains a sinner, or so long as his best interest 
requires his chastisement, whether here or hereafter. But 
belief in an endless hell has no place in Universalist 
theology. It is nowhere taught in the Bible, hence it is 
rejected as one of the inventions of men. 

Probation is a term nowhere found in the Authorized 
Version, and while it occurs twice in Rom. v.4, (R. V.), it 



A STATEMENT OF THE DOCTRINES. 33 

takes the place of the word " experience " in the A. V., 
and hence., has no such significance as is usually given it 
by " Orthodoxy." That this life is probationary for the 
next, is not. therefore, a Scripture doctrine. God needs not 
to put His children on trial to prove them. He knows our 
most secret thoughts. " He needeth not the poor device 
of man" to determine the character of His children. 
u Known unto God are all His works." 

Death no Bar to God's Love. 

Our passing from this world to the next cannot change 
the relation of God to us. He is our Father now and we 
are His children, and this relation will never cease. " For 
I am persuaded that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor 
principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to 
come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be 
able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ 
Jesus our Lord." Rom. vm 138, 39. " Can a mother forget 
her sucking child?" ".Yea, they may forget," but we are 
assured that God will never forget us. Isa. 49:15. His 
love for His children is deathless. He is unchangeable, 
and since He ' loves us, while we are yet sinners] no time 
can come when His love will be withdrawn. And we are 
told, (Rev. xxi:25) that " the gates" of the heavenly 
Jerusalem "shall not be shut at all." The dogma of 
probation is, therefore, without foundation in the Holy 
Scriptures, and should be discarded by all. But this fact 
gives no license for the abuse of our privileges, here and 
now ; for " the wicked are as the troubled sea," they have 
no rest day nor night." Man's happiness can be secured 
alone by a righteous life and his happiness hereafter will 
be augmented thereby. 

Punishment After Death. 

Universalism has been falsely charged with denying 
after-death punishment. Universalism neither denies nor 
affirms after-death punishment. There are a few Univer- 



34 WHAT IS UNIVERSALISM? 

salists who believe that conscious suffering is limited to our 
fleshly existence. And some have charged certain of the 
Ballou Universalists with upholding what is called the 
"death and glory" theory, yet those who seem to have 
known most intimately the views of that class, usually 
disclaim so bald a statement of their belief. We are 
assured of their belief in some sort of future discipline, 
which they rightly construe as one phase of punishment 
after death — namely, that failure to develop our religious 
faculties here, incurs loss of happiness there: We think that 
at the present day, there are very few, if any, of our clergy, 
who proclaim disbelief in punishment after death, though 
such views are held by some of the laity. On the other 
hand, some of the early preachers of Universalism believed 
in long ages of future punishment for the wicked, but it is 
perhaps true that this view is not held by any clergyman 
in fellowship with our church at the present day. 

Speaking for ourself, alone, and yet no doubt reflecting 
the opinion of the great majority of our members, we 
regard the "death and glory" theory, whether held by 
many, or by few, as unscriptural, unreasonable, unjust and 
immoral in its tendency. The wilful murderer, himself cut 
off in the act, will carry with him, into the spirit world, 
his memory and his conscience, to plague and torment him 
so long as God in His wisdom finds it to be for the good 
of the offender. This punishment will be both just and 
merciful ; it is never vindictive, and it cannot be endless. 
But that such a wicked act should be an open door to a 
higher life, free from all pain or sorrow, and which, had 
the culprit remained here to old age, and fully penitent, 
would have caused him compunction of conscience so 
long as he lived, does not seem to accord with the scrip- 
ture which says, " God will by no means clear the guilty," 
nor does it commend itself to our mind as carrying with 
it that moral obligation and binding force, impelling to 



A STATEMENT OF THE DOCTRINES. 35 

duty, which we find everywhere else emphasized and 
amplified, by precepts of the Bible, by man's experience, 
and by the deductions of sound reason. The assurance 
that comes to us from all these sources which throw light 
•on the government of God, is, that if we violate His laws, 
punishment follows, relentlessly, not always immediately, 
and all at once, but often extending through a long course 
of time, and yet with certainty. Hence to say that death, 
as an accident, or as a natural event, furnishes sufficient 
cause for God to hold one of His laws in abeyance, we 
find no warrant in His Word, nor elsewhere, for believing. 
Besides salvation is a matter of growth — " first the blade, 
then the ear, then the full corn in the ear" , is God's order 
in the spirit realm as in the evolutions of nature. If the 
religious or spiritual life be not begun here, it must begin 
there ; and we are to "grow in grace and in the knowledge 
of the Lord Jesus Christ." There can be no sudden 
unfolding of these powers, by reason of death, or anything 
else, to enable us to bask, at once, in the exquisite joys of 
the redeemed, in the world to come. Success in the life of 
the soul, like success in every other department of our 
lives, must be won ; it is never thrust upon us suddenly, 
unmerited, here, or hereafter. But the toil and struggle to 
win the goal, the pearl of great price, will be amply 
rewarded and our joys will increase as the struggle is 
■continued. A never-ending growth in the life of the soul 
seems " our destined end and way." An everlasting devel- 
opment of our powers, forever growing tozuard the perfec- 
tions of God, is the glorious hope which is revealed for 
all God's intelligent creatures. 

Nature and Office of Punishment. 

Although Universalism neither affirms nor denies after- 
death punishment, yet it does affirm with all the force it 
can command, the certainty of just punishment for all 



7,6 WHAT IS UNIVERSALIS*! ? 



sin. And it also asserts that punishment is remedial, and 
that it will continue so long as sin continues, or so long as the 
good of man requires it. But being remedial it necessarily 
follows that it must come to a?i end, so soon as its remedial 
agency ends. Verse 46, of the xxv chapter of Mathew, is 
commonly regarded as the sheet-anchor of the doctrine of 
endless punishment, and }^et, singularly enough, " Ortho- 
dox" commentators usually overlook the important fact 
that the Greek word here translated punishment com- 
pletely overthrows their theory as to the teaching of this 
text. Kolasis is the Greek word thus translated, and it 
clearly teaches the remedial character of the punishment 
here predicted. Eminent Greek scholars and biblicists say 
that this word conveys the idea of "pruning" or "chas- 
tisement". We prune trees and vines that they may 
become more fruitful, and thus God's punishments or chas- 
tisements are a means of making us more fruitful in good 
works. Punishment is, then, a means to an end, and not an 
end in itself. God is not revengeful ; but always he pun- 
ishes because his punishments are beneficent. Remember 
this, dear reader, and put far from you the idea that -God 
ever becomes angry and revengeful, in the sense that men 
do. His ways are above our ways, and His nature is such 
that he could not permit endless evil. Being infinite in 
power and knowledge, for him to permit an endless eviL 
would be equivalent to being the author of it. 

Aion-Aionios — Everlasting, Eternal, Forever, For- 
ever and Ever, Etc. 

But some objector may say that the punishment here 
spoken of is expressly said to be everlasting. "We reply that 
"everlasting", in the Bible, does not mean endless. End- 
less punishment, endless hell, endless damnation, are no- 
where spoken of in the Bible. The Greek words, aion, 
aionios, translated " everlasting ", " eternal ", " forever and 



A STATEMENT OF THE DOCTRINES. # 37 

ever", "etc.", in the New Testament, never of themselves, 
imply endless duration. We are told by able Greek schol- 
ars that olam in the Hebrew Scriptures was translated into 
the Greek Septuagint by aion-aionios, and this, in turn, into 
our common English Bible, by the words "everlasting", 
"eternal", "etc." But all authorities define olam as de- 
noting indefinite duration ; and since the translators must 
translate olam by a word having the same significance, it 
follows that olam, aion, and everlasting, are equivalent ex- 
pressions, each denoting indefinite duration. Thus we are 
furnished with the most reliable evidence that " everlas- 
ting" does not convey the sense of endlessness. The most 
that may be said of this word, is, that its meaning is to be 
•determined by the nature of that to which it is applied. 
But we have already shown that punishment is remedial in 
its nature, which precludes the possibility of its being end- 
less \ and since these words, supposed by some, to mean 
endless, when applied to punishment, are quite commonly 
applied, in the Bible, to things long since come to an end, 
( and many times it is so applied to the Jewish age, which 
ended more than 1800 years ago), we readily see, that in 
the text above, it cannot have the sense of endless ; and if 
not there, certainly e?idless punishment is no where taught 
in the Bible. 

Further than this, we are strongly inclined to the 
opinion, now held by many, that "everlasting", and 
" eternal ", in the verse above, have 710 reference to duration 
at all. In the Revised Version the translators have substi- 
tuted "eternal" for "everlasting", making the verse read : 
••' And these shall go away into eternal punishment : but the 
righteous into eternal life" Many now understand the 
word "eternal" to mean "spiritual" — the one class to re- 
ceive " spiritual " punishment and the other to receive 
" spiritual " life, without any reference to duration, 

"But" says the objector, " if eternal punishment does 



38 WHAT IS UNIVERSALISM ? 

not mean endless punishment, then eternal life does not 
mean endless life, and we have no assurance of an immor- 
tal life of happiness beyond the grave ". We reply, again, 
that our faith in the soul's immortal and happy existence,, 
is not predicated upon the words "eternal life". "The 
words which express this doctrine of the soul's immortal 
and happy existence," says Dr. Hanson*, who has trans- 
lated the Four Gospels, " are words that are never used in 
the Bible to express limited duration, and are akataluton, 
imperishable ; amarantos, and amarantinos, unfading ; 
aphtharto, immortal, incorruptible ; and athanasian, im- 
mortality"; and he refers us to the following scriptures in 
support of his statement : (Heb. vii:i6; I. Pet. 1:3,4; v.4 ; 
I. Tim. 1:17; vi:i6; II. Tim. 1:10; Rom. 1:23; 11. 7 ; I. 
Cor. 1x125 ; xv: 4 2, 51, 54.) 

Thus it will be seen that there were words in common 
use by the contemporaries of Jesus, which unequivocally 
denote endlessness ; but the fact that he never applied them 
to punishment, is the strongest evidence that he did not in- 
tend to teach that punishment would be never-ending. 

The Resurrection. 
What is meant by the " resurrection of the dead "? 
Many suppose the bodies we now have will be raised, but 
the phrase, "resurrection of the body," never occurrs in the 
New Testament. The Scriptures do not teach the exact 
identity of existence hereafter, but on the other hand de- 
clare a change. Says the Apostle Paul : " But some man 
will say ; How are the dead raised up ? and with what 
body do they come ?" And he answers : " Thou fool, that 
which thou sowestis not quickened except it die : And that 
which thou sowest, thou sowest not that body that shall be y 
but bare grain, it may chance of wheat or of some other 
grain : But God giveth it a body as it hath pleased him,. 



'Aion-Aionios," by Rev. J. W. Hanson, D. D. 



A STATEMENT OF THE DOCTRINES. 39 

and to every seed his own body." I. Cor. xv:35~38. " It is 
sown a natural body it is raised a spiritual body," verse 44. 
••' Xow this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot in- 
herit the kingdom of God ; neither doth corruption inherit 
incorruption," verse 50. Paul here declares that our mor- 
tal or perishable bodies cannot go into the immortal world, 
and that in the resurrection state we shall possess " spir- 
itual bodies." And this is not asserted of any one class of 
persons, but "the -dead," without limitation, are to be 
raised incorruptible, (verse 52), and this is in conformity with 
the scripture which says } " As in Adam all die, even so in 
Christ shall all be made alive." " That a relation exists 
between the 'spiritual body' and the ' natural body,' in 
some degree analogous to that which exists between the 
butterfly and the worm, and between the blade and the 
seed, is not intrinsically improbable," says Dr. Paige. Vol. 
v. p. 233. 

A Simultaneous, Universal Resurrection 

is thought to be the teaching of the Bible, by those who 
believe that God will literally bring all the dead before 
Him, at the end of the world, to pass judgment upon them. 
But Universalists deny that the Bible teaches this doctrine; 
and to the contrary they assert that it teaches that the res- 
urrection is progressive. Says Dr. Paige : " The Scriptures 
indicate that the resurrection had commenced, and was in 
progress, in the days of Christ and the Apostles." This is 
evident from the fact that Moses and Elijah appeared on 
the " high mountain," and conversed with our Lord, when 
he was transfigured. Mat. xvii:i>9. Moses and Elijah had 
been dead for centuries ; yet they appeared and conversed 
as living beings. We are also told that " He is not a 
God of the dead, but of the living : for all live unto Him". 
Luke xx:37, 38.. Paul also desired to be absent from the 
body and present with the Lord, (II. Cor. v:8), indicating 



40 WHAT IS UNIVERSALIS*! ? 

that no great length of time would intervene between the 
death of the body, and the spirit's return unto God, what- 
ever that may mean. The inference we draw, is, that the 
separation of the spirit from the " natural " body, by which' 
it is released from its earthy environments, and its being 
clothed upon with a "spiritual" body, or transformed so 
as to preserve some close relation, or identity, between the 
new body and the old, is substantially, what is here taught. 

The Judgment-Day. 

Does the Bible teach the doctrine of a general Judgment 
at the end of this world, as is commonly taught by Par- 
tialist creeds ? Universalists unanimously dissent from 
such belief. They are not unfamiliar with the few texts, 
supposed to teach this doctrine, and which, carelessly read, 
may seem to teach it. One of the texts claimed in support 
of that view, is Acts xvii:3i, wherein we, are told that God 
" hath appointed a day in the which he will judge the world 
in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained." As 
to the phrase, "hath appointed a day, etc.", we are told 
that " with God a thousand years are as a day ". The 
" day ", here specified, is the time during the reign of Christ, 
or in other words the " gospel day", and began with his 
reign on earth, and will continue until he delivers his king- 
dom up to God, who then becomes " all in all" I. Cor. 
xv: 24-28. The language (II. Cor. v:io), "For we must all 
appear before the judgment-seat of Christ; that every one 
may receive the things done in his body, according to that 
he hath done, whether it be good or bad", is highly figura- 
tive ; and yet, the fact that all who are judged, are to re- 
ceive for both the good and evil, precludes the thought of 
a judgment in which the reward is all good, or all evil. 
And since Christ expressly says : " For judgment I am 
come into the world" , (John 1x139), an( ^ u $ow is the judg- 
ment of this world ", (John xir.31) ; and since the Revised 



A STATEMENT OF THE DOCTRINES. 41 

Version translates the phrase, " must all appear ", by "must 
be made manifest" it is clear, that his "judgment-seat" 
must be in the world, that his judgments are here on 
the earth, and are meted out continuously, according to 
our deserts. We are told that when God's judgments are 
in the earth the inhabitants learn righteousness, (Isa. 26:9); 
and this by implication destroys the validity of a judgment 
deferred some thousands of years, as must be true in case 
of a general judgment at the end of time. A judgment so 
far removed, would not deter the wrong-doer, and punish- 
ing one with endless perdition, and rewarding another with 
endless bliss, would not be according to the deeds done in 
the body, for all have done both good and evil. God will 
bring every work and every secret thing into judgment. 
This we fully believe, but we are told that, " If any man's 
work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss : but he himself 
shall be saved; yet so as by fire". I. Cor. 111:15; ( Ps. 
cv:; ; Deut. 10:18; Ec. 111:16 ; Isa. xlii:4; Jer. xxni:5 ; 
John v: 2 2, 27, 30 ; 1x139 ; xii:3i.) 

Says Dr. Paige : "Judgment is not delayed to a far dis- 
tant period, and then rendered according to past character 
instead of present ; but throughout the reign of Christ he 
renders to every one a reward appropriate to his present 
character and each change of character involves a corres- 
ponding variation in the reward. This judgment is now 
in operation in the present world. We are as truly before 
the judgment-seat of Christ now as we ever shall be; we 
are already manifest in his sight." God sees our hearts 
and knows our most secret motives at all times ; and his 
judgments and punishments are constantly being admin- 
istered. He rewards and punishes us, here, and hereafter, 
according to our just deserts. He does not need to hold a 
court of assize to determine our merits or demerits. 
Therefore, let each doubting soul be encouraged, and 






42 WHAT IS UNIVERSALISM ? 

" With patient heart thy course of duty run ; 
God nothing does, nor suffers to be done, 
But thou would'st do thyself, if thou could'st see 
The end of all, he does, as well as he." 

From what has been said in this chapter the reader may- 
see that Universalists have a " Thus saith the Lord " for 
what they believe and teach. We say : " Search the Scrip- 
tures " ; and we now invite attention to some of the many 
Bible-proofs of this doctrine. 






CHAPTER III. 



Bible Proofs of Universalism. 

One adequate support 
For the calamities of mortal life 
Exists, one only \ — an assured belief 
That the procession of our fate, howe'er 
Sad or disturbed, is ordered by a being 
Of infinite benevolence and power, 
Whose everlasting purposes embrace 
All accidents, converting them to good. 

— Wordsworth. 

This " assured belief " may be had by a careful study of 
the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments ; but 
that specious plea, so often heard, for being on the "safe"' 
side, the fear of interminable woe in the life to come, is the 
bugbear that keeps thousands from making any proper in- 
vestigation of the Bible teaching upon this theme. And 
out of this plea, this concession to fear, come a troop of 
subterfuges to evade logical conclusions from premises ad- 
mitted to be sound and well-established. For example, it 
is universally conceded by theologians that God is infinite 
in Goodness, Knowledge, and Power ; and this being ad- 
mitted Universalism follows inevitably. For if one says 
God can, but will not save all men, He denies the infinite 
goodness of God, or if he says God wills the salvation of 
all, but cannot save all, he denies the omnipotence of God. 
Let it once be conceded that God is Almighty, Omniscient, 
and perfect in Goodness, and there remains no possible 



44 BIBLE PROOFS OF UNIVERSALISM. 

ground on which to stand, short of the ultimate well-being 
of the entire race of man. This proposition needs no ar- 
gument to strengthen it. Indeed it cannot be strengthened. 
The logic is impregnable. Let us see, then, what the Bible 
says, concerning God's goodness, power, and knowledge. 

God's Goodness. 

Ps. 36:7. *How precious is thy loving-kindness, O God ! 

Ps. ioq:5. For the Lord is good ; His mercy endureth 
forever. 

Ps. 119:90. Thy faithfulness is unto all generations. 

Ps. 136:1. "His mercy endureth forever," is repeated 
twenty-six times in this one chapter. 

Ps. 145:8, 9. The Lord is gracious and/?/// of compassion; 
slow to anger and of great mercy. The Lord is good to all; 
and his tender mercies are over all his works. 

Ps. 145:14-17. The Lord upholdeth all that fall, and 
raiseth up all those that be bowed down. The eyes of 'all 
wait upon thee ; and thou givest them their meat in due sea- 
son. Thou openest thine hand and satisfiest the desires of 
every living thing. The Lord is righteous in all his ways 
and gracious in all his works. 

Isa. 25:8. The Lord God will wipe away tears from off 
all faces. 

Mat. 5:43-45. Ye have heard that it was said, Thou 
shalt love thy neighbor and hate thine enemy : but I say 
unto you love your enemies, and pray for them that perse- 
cute you : that ye may be the sons of your father which is 
in heaven : for He maketh His sun to rise on the evil and 
the good, and sendeth rain on the just and the unjust. 
[ Would God ask us to love our enemies if He hates His ?~\ 

Mat. 19:17. There is none good but one, that is God. 



*In this chapter we quote from the Revised Version. 



bible proofs of universalism. 45, 

God's Almightiness. 

Gen. 17:1. I am Almighty God. 

Isa. 46:10, 11. I am God and there is none like me; 
declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient 
times the things that are not yet done ; saying my coun- 
sel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure. Yea I have 
spoken, I will also do it. ( See also 43:11, 13.) 

Ps. 115:3. He hath done whatsoever he pleased. 

Dan. 4:35. He doeth according to His will in the 
army of the heaven, and among the inhabitants of the earth 
and none can stay His hand or say unto Him, What doest 
thou ? 

Mat. 19:26. With God all things are possible. 

Rom. 13:1. There is no power but of God. 

God's Knowledge. 

Job 34:21. For His eyes are upon the ways of a man.. 
and He seeth all his goings. Verse 25, Therefore He 
taketh knowledge of their works. 

Ps. 44:21. For He knoweth the secrets of the heart. 

Acts. 15:18. Who maketh these things known from the 
beginning of the world. 

Rom. 11:33. O the depth of the riches both of the 
wisdom and the knowledge of God ! how unsearchable are 
His judgments, and His ways past finding out ! 

God's Nature. 

I. John 4:8. God is love. Rom. 13:10. " Love worketh 
no ill to his neighbor." 



While texts may be wrested from their connection, and 
rightful meaning, and made to favor almost any false 
doctrine, yet when honestly employed they may be used 
to show the general trend and scope of Bible teaching ; and 
this trend and scope, including the principles laid down, are 



46 BIBLE PROOFS OF UNIVERSALISM. 

■a much safer guide to their teaching, than any other plan 
of studying their meaning. We propose to show that this 
trend points clearly to the triumph of Good over Evil. 

Evil — Sin. 
Evil is in the world, but for what purpose it is permitted, 
is to many a very dark problem ; and without a revelation 
upon the subject its purpose would be far to see. Says 
Chauncey Hare Townsend : 

" Give evil but an end — and all is clear ! 

Make it eternal — and all things are obscured ! 

And all that we have thought, felt, wept, endured, 

Worthless. We feel that e'en if our own tear 

Were wiped away forever, no true cheer 

Could to our yearning bosoms be secured 

While we believed that sorrow clung uncured 

To any being we on earth held dear. 

Oh, much doth life the sweet solution want 

Of all made blest in far futurity ! 

Heaven needs it too. Our bosoms yearn and pant 

Rather indeed our God to justify 

Than our own selves. Oh,- why then drop the key 

That tunes discordant worlds to harmony !" 

Universalism is the only "key that tunes discordant 
worlds to harmony "; and since God has revealed Himself 
to the world, we are permitted to draw conclusions in 
harmony with His own nature and character. We know 
that a pure fountain cannot send forth an impure stream ; 
and since God is the source of infinite purity and perfec- 
tion, we can readily believe that His providence is working 
out, through the agency of evil, man's highest good. The 
Bible and human experience disclose God's purpose in the 
temporary sorrows and afflictions of life ; and the former 
points to the time when sin shall be "finished", ended. In 
the very first book of the Bible the destruction of sin, or 



BIBLE PROOFS OF UNIVERSALIS^!. 47 

evil, is prefigured under the similitude of a serpent. 
Christ, the seed of the woman, is to bruise the serpent's 
head. The "head" being the vital part, its bruising 
typifies the "death", or end of sin. 

With these introductory remarks we proceed to cata- 
logue, for convenience of review, some of the very great 
multitude of passages which clearly point to this " larger 
hope." Many of them are explicit, requiring no com- 
ment, save this : that to arrive at any right conclusion we 
should ever keep in mind the nature and character of God ; 
and that sin, and not some external danger in the world to 
come, is what Christ is to redeem us from. 



Why Mankind was "Subjected to Vanity." 

Rom. 8:20. For the creation [all mankind, says 
M' Knight] was subjected to vanity, not of its own will, 
but by reason of Him who hath subjected it, in hope that 
the creation itself, [all mankind], also shall be delivered 
from the bondage of corruption into the liberty of the glory 
of the children of God. 

Sin Shall be Destroyed. 

Gen. 3:15. And I will put enmity between thee and the 
woman, and between thy seed and her seed : it shall bruise 
thy head and thou shalt bruise his heel. 

Hosea 10:8. The sin of Israel shall be destroyed. 

Heb. 9:26. But now once at the end of the ages hath 
He been manifested to put away sin by the sacrifice of 
Himself. 

Salvation is from Sin. 

Mat. 1:21. And thou shalt call His name Jesus : for it is 
He that shall save His people from their sins. 

John 1:29. Behold the Lamb of God which taketh away 
the sin of the world. (See I. Tim. 1:15). 



48 BIBLE PROOFS OF UNIVERSALIS*!. 

Gal. 1:4. Who gave himself for our sins, that He might 
deliver us out of this present evil world according to the 
will of our God and Father. 

Acts 3:26. God having raised up His Servant, sent him 
to bless you, in turning away every one of you from your 
iniquities. 

The Devil and his Works will be Destroyed. 

Heb. 2:14, 15. Since then the children are sharers in 
flesh and blood, He himself in like manner partook of the 
same ; that through death He might bring to naught him 
that had the power of death, that is, the devil ; and might 
deliver all them who through fear of death were all their 
lifetime subject to bondage. 

I. John 3:8. To this end was the Son of God manifested 
that He might destroy the works of the devil. 

Death Shall be Abolished and Pain and Sorrow be 
No More. 

Hosea 13:14. I will ransom them from the power of 
the grave ; I will redeem them from death. 

I. Cor. 15:25, 26. For He [Christ] must reign, till He hath 
put all His enemies under His feet. The last enemy that 
shall be abolished is death. • 

Rev. 21:3, 4. And God himself shall be with them and 
be their God : and He shall wipe away every tear from 
their eyes, and death shaft be no more ; neither shall there 
be ??iourning, nor crying, nor pain any more. 

Death and Hades cast into the Lake of Fire. 

Rev. 20:14. And death and hades [hell in A. V.] were 
cast into the lake of fire. 

Will God Cast Off For Ever ? 

Lam. 3'.$i-33. For the Lord will not cast off for ever. 
For though He cause grief, yet will He have compassion 



BIBLE PROOFS OF UNIVERSALISM. 



49 



according to the multitude of His mercies. For He doth 
not afflict willingly nor grieve the children of men. 

God's Punishments are Remedial. 

Isa. 57:17, 18. For the iniquity of his covetousness was I 
wroth and smote him, I hid my face and was wroth : and he 
went on frowardly in the way of his heart. I have seen his 
ways and will heal him : I will lead him also and restore 
comfort* unto him and his mourners. 

Ps. 94:12. Blessed is the man whom thou chasteneth, 

Lord, and teachest out of thy law ; that t hou mayest 
give him rest from the days of adversity. 

Ps. 119:67. Before I was afflicted I went astray; but 
now I observe thy word. Verse 71, It is good for me that 

1 have been afflicted ; that I might learn thy statutes. 
Verse 75, I know, O Lord, that thy judgments are right- 
eous, and that in faithfulness thou hast afflicted me. 

Prov. 3:11. My son, despise not the chastenin g of the 
Lord : neither be weary of his reproof : for whom the 
Lord loveth He reproveth ; even as a father the son in 
whom he delighteth. 

Heb. 12:6. For whom the Lord loveth He chasteneth 
and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. Verse 7, 
For what son is there whom his father chasteneth not ? 

Heb. 12:10, 11. For they verily for a few days chastened 
us as seemed good to them ; but he for our profit, that we 
may be partakers of his holiness. All chastening seemeth 
for the present to be not joyous, but grievous: yet after- 
wards it yieldeth peaceable fruit unto them that have been 
exercised thereby, even the fruit of righteousness. 

I. Cor. 3:15. If any man's work shall be burned, he 
shall suffer loss, but he himself shall be saved? yet so as 
through fire. 



$0 bible proofs of universaltsm. 

Will God Keep Anger Forever? 

Jer. 3:12. I am merciful saith the Lord. I will not keep 
finger forever. 

Ps. 30:5. For His anger is but for a moment; in His 
favor is life ; weeping may tarry for the night, but joy 
cometh in the morning. (Also Ps. 99:8 ; 103:9.) 

Isa. 57:16. I will not contend forever, neither will I be 
always wroth : for the spirit should fail before vie and the 
souls which I have made* [ That is, the spirits and souls 
of men could not endure the endless wrath of God : they 
would fail or cease to be.] ( Isa. 54:8 ; 57:16.) 

Micah 7:18. Who is a God like unto thee, that par- 
doneth iniquity, and passeth by the transgression of the 
remnant of his heritage ? He retaineth not His anger for 
ever, because He delighteth in mercy. 

Is God Unmerciful to Unbelievers ? 

Rom. 3:3. For what if some were without faith? shall 
their want of faith make of none effect the faithfulness of 
God? 

Rom. 11:32. For God hath shut up all unto disobedi- 
ence, that he might have mercy upon all. 

Rom. 3:22, 23. For there is no distinction; for <a//have 
sinned and fall short of the glory of God : being justified 
freely by His grace through the redemption that is in 
Christ Jesus. 

II. Sam. 14:14. Neither doth God take away life, but 
deviseth means, that he that is banished be not an outcast 
from Him. 

Ps. 89:30-33. If His children forsake my law, and walk 
not in my judgments ; if they break my statutes, and keep 
not my commandments ; then will I visit their transgres- 
sion with the rod, and their iniquity with stripes. But my 
mercy will I not utterly take from him, nor suffer my faith 
fulness to fail. 



bible proofs of universalism. 5 1 

Will God's Mercy Ever be Withdrawn? 

Ps. 100:5. For the Lord is good ; His mercy endureth 
for ever, and His faithfulness unto all generations. 

Isa. 49:15. Can a woman forget her sucking child, etc.? 
Yea, these may forget, yet will not I forget thee. 

All Families and Nations shall be Blessed. 

Gen. 12:3. And in thee shall all the families of the earth 
be blessed. Gen. 26:4. And in thy seed shall all the 
nations of the earth be blessed. 

Acts 3:25. In thy seed shall all the families of the earth 
be blessed. 

All Peoples, Nations, and Languages shall Serve Him. 

Dan. 7:14. And there was given Him dominion, and 
g!6ry, and a kingdom, that all the peoples, nations and 
languages should serve Him : His dominion is an ever- 
lasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and His 
kingdom that which shall not be destroyed. 

Ps. 86:9. All nations whom Thou hast made shall come 
and worship before thee, O Lord; and they shall glorify 
thy name. 

.A Gospel Feast for all People. 

Isa. 2:2. And it shall come to pass in the latter days, 
that the mountain of the Lord's house shall be established 
in the top of the mountains, and shall be exalted above 
the hills ; and all nations shall flow unto it. 

Isa. 25:6-9. And in this mountain shall the Lord of 
hosts make unto all peoples a feast of fat things, a feast of 
wines on the lees, of fat things full of marrow, of wines 
on the lees well refined. And He will destroy in this moun- 
tain the face of the covering that is cast over all peoples, 
and the veil that is spread over all nations. Lie hath 
swallowed up death for ever : and the Lord God will wipe 
away tears from off all faces ; and the reproach of His 



52 BIBLE PROOFS OF UNIVERSALISM. 

people shall He take away from off all the earth ; for the 
Lord hath spoken it. 

"All Things in Christ." 

Eph. 1:9, 10. Having made known unto us the mystery 
of His will, according to His good pleasure which He 
purposed in Him unto a dispensation of the fullness of 
the times, to sum up all things in Christ, the things in the 
heavens and the things upon the earth. 

I. Cor. 15:22. For as in Adam all die, so also in Christ 
shall all be made alive. 

II. Cor. 5:17. If any man be in Christ he is anew 
creature. 

All shall Fear, Glorify, and Worship the Lord. 

Rev. 15:4. Who shall not fear, O Lord, and glorify 
thy name ? For Thou only art holy : for all nations shall 
come and worship before thee. 

^Objection Answered — All will not Come to Christ. 

Ps. 65:2. O thou that nearest prayer, unto thee shall 
all flesh come. 

Ps. 86:9. All nations whom thou hast made shall come 
and worship before thee. 

Ps. 110:3. Thy people offer themselves willingly in the 
day of thy power. 

Isa. 11:10. And it shall come to pass in that day, that 
the root of Jesse, which standeth for an ensign of the peo- 
ples, unto him shall the nations seek ; and his resting place 
shall be glorious. (Also 60:14; 55:5.) 

Gen. 49:10. And unto him shall the obedience of the 
peoples be. 

Zech. 13:9. They shall call on my name and I will hear 



*In the preparation of this chapter we have been assisted by the use of a 
small work, "The Book of Promises," by S. B. Emmons. 



BIBLE PROOFS OF UNIVERSALISM. 53 

them ; I will say, It is my people ; and they shall say, The 
Lord is my God. 

John 12:32. And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will 
draw all men unto myself. 

John 3:35. The Father loveth the Son and hath given 
all things into his hand. 

John 16:15. All things whatsoever the Father hath are 
mine. 

John 17:10. And all things that are mine are thine, and 
thine are mine. 

John 17:2. Even as Thou gavest Him authority over all 
flesh, that whatsoever Thou hast given Him, to them He 
should give eternal life. 

John 6:37. All that which the Father giveth me shall 
come unto me ; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise 
cast out. (See Parable of Prodigal Son, Luke 15:11.) 

John 6:38. For I am come down from heaven, not to do 
mine own will, but the will of Him that sent me. 

John 6:39. And this is the will of Him that sent me, 
that of all that which He hath given me I should lose noth- 
ing, but should raise it up at the last day. 

John 6:45. It is written in the prophets, And they shall 
all be taught of God. Every one that hath heard from 
the Father, and hath learned, cometh unto me. 

Confessing to God. 
Rom. 14:11. As I live saith the Lord, to me every knee 
shall bow, and every tongue shall confess to God. 

Confessing Christ. 
Phil. 2:9-11. Wherefore also God highly exalted Him, 
and gave unto Him the name which is above every name ; 
that in the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of 
things in heaven and things on earth and things under the 
earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus 
Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. 



54 BIBLE PROOFS OF UNIVERSALISM. 

Salvation for All. 

Luke 2:10. And the angel said unto them, Be not 
afraid; for behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy 
which shall be to all the people : for there is born to you 
this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ 
the Lord. 

Luke y.6. And all flesh shall see the salvation of God. 

Luke 13:20,21. And again he said, Whereunto shall I 
liken the kingdom of God ? It is like unto leaven, which 
a woman took and hid in three measures of meal /*// it zvas 
all leavened. 

Luke 15:4. [This is the parable of the Lost Sheep 
which typifies Christ bringing home the last lost soul.] 
John to: 16. And they shall become one flock, one shepherd, 

Luke 15:8. Or what woman having ten pieces of silver, 
if she lose one piece, doth not light a lamp, and sweep the 
house, and seek diligently until she find it. 

John 3:7. Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be 
born anew. 

John 3:17. For God sent not the Son into the world to 
judge the world ; but that the world should be saved 
through Him. 

John 4:42. For we have heard for ourselves, and know- 
that this is indeed the Saviour of the world. 

Adoption as Children, Sons and Heirs of God. 

Rom. 9:26. And it shall be that in the place where it- 
was said unto them, Ye are not my people, there shall 
they be called sons of the living God. 

Gal. 4:4,5. God sent forth His Son, born of a woman r 
born under the law, that he might redeem them which were 
under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons. 

Rom. 8:17. And if children, then heirs ; heirs of God r 
and joint-heirs of Christ. (See also II. Cor. 6:18; Eph, 
1:5,6; I. John 3:1,2 ; Gal. 3:29.) 






BIBLE PROOFS OF UNIVERSALISM. 55 

Mai. 2:10. Have we not all one Father? Hath not one 
God created us? 

God the Savior of all Men. 

Titus 2:11. For the grace of God hath appeared bring- 
ing salvation to all men. 

I. Tim. 4:10,11. For to this end we labor and strive, 
because we have our hope set on the living God, who is the 
Saviour of all men, specially of them that believe. 

God Wills the Salvation of All. 

I. Tim. 2:4. Who willeth that all men should be saved 
and come to the knowledge of the truth. 

Christ the Savior of the Whole World. 

I. John 4:14. And we have beheld and bear witness that 
the Father hath sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world. 

I. John 2:1,2. And if any man sin we have an Advocate 
with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous : and he is the 
propitiation for our sins : and not for ours only, but also 
for the whole world. (It is a " common salvation, " 
Jude 1:3.) 

II. Cor. 5:19. God was in Christ reconciling the world 
unto himself. (See Ps. 2:8 ; Isa. 45:23,24.) 

I. Cor. 15:49. As we have borne the image of the earthy 
we shall also bear the image of the heavenly. 

Isa. 53:11. He [Christ] shall see of the travail of his 
soul and shall be satisfied. 

• Can Death Separate us from the Love of God ? 

Rom. 8:38. For I am persuaded that neither death, nor 
life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor 
things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any 
other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love 
of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. 

Rom. 14:8,9. For whether we live we live unto the 



56 BIBLE PROOFS OF UNIVERSALISM. 

* 

Lord ; or whether we die, we die unto the Lord : whether 
we live, therefore, or die, we are the Lords. For to this 
end Christ died, and lived again, that He might be Lord of 
both the dead and the living. 

II. Cor. 4:1. For we know that if the earthly house of 
our tabernacle be dissolved, we have a building from God, 
a house not made with hands, eternal, in the heavens. 
(See Eccl. 12:7 — " the spirit returns to God.") 

All Shall be Taught of God. 

Heb. 8:11. And they shall not teach every man his fel- 
low-citizen, and every man his brother, saying know the 
Lord : for all shall know Me from the least to the 
greatest of them. 

God Shall be All in All. 

I. Cor. 15:24,25. Then cometh the end when He shall 
deliver up the kingdom to God even the Father ; when He 
shall have abolished all rule, and all authority and power. 
For He must reign, till He hath put all His enemies under 
His feet. • 

I. Cor. 15:28. And when all things have been subjected 
unto Him, then shall the Son also himself be subjected to 
Him that did subject all things unto Him, that God may 
be all in all. 

Rom. 11:36. For of Him, and through Him, and unto 
Him, are all things. 

Will God's Word Accomplish His Pleasure? 

Isa. 55:10,11. For as the rain cometh down and the 
snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth 
the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, and giveth 
seed to the sower and bread to the eater ; so shall my word 
be that goeth forth out of my mouth : it shall not return 
unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, 
nd it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it. 



bible proofs of universalis**. 57 

The Dead Shall be Raised Incorruptible. 

I. Cor. 15:51-53- We shall not all sleep, but we shall all 
"be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the 
last trump : for the trumpet shall sound and the dead shall 
be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this 
corruptible must put on incorruption and this mortal must 
put on immortality. 

The Restoration of All Things. 

Acts 3:21. Whom the heaven must receive until the 
times of the restoration of all things, whereof God spake 
by the mouth of His holy prophets, which have been since 
the world began. 

The Wonderful Vision of St. John the Divine. 

Rev. 5:13. And every created thing which is in the 
heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and on the 
sea, and all things that are in them, heard I saying, Unto 
Him that sitteth on the throne, and unto the Lamb, be the 
blessing, and the honour, and the glory, and the dominion, 
for ever and ever. 

Rev: 22:3. "And there shall be no curse any more" ! 

Dear reader, is not this a glorious result which these 
Scriptures set forth ? And are they not just what we 
should expect of a God of infinite love and wisdom and 
power? By this great array of passages we have shown 
that God's nature is love ; that He is perfect in goodness, 
knowledge and power ; that He permits evil in the world 
for a purpose : that sin is man's greatest enemy ; but that 
God had a purpose in subjecting man to "vanity," that he 
might be "delivered from the bondage of corruption"; 
that God has decreed the end of sin ; and spoken through 
His holy prophets since the world began, of the "restora- 
tion of all things " ; that salvation is from sin ; that the 
devil and his works are to be destroyed ; that death shall 



50 BIBLE PROOFS OF UNIVERSALISM. 

be abolished; and death and hell [hades] shall be cast into 
the lake of fire ; that " God will not cast of forever"; that 
His punishments are remedial, and hence cannot be endless ; 
that He will not keep anger forever, but that He is merciful 
and kind to even unbelievers and the sinful ; that His 
mercy endures forever ; that all families, nations, kindreds, 
and peoples shall be blessed, and shall serve Him ; that He 
has prepared a " gospel feast" to which all nations and 
peoples shall come ; that He has purposed to gather together 
all tilings in Christ ; that God is the Savior of all men ; 
that He has zvilled and purposed the salvation of all men ; 
that He sent his Son to accomplish this purpose ; and that 
"He shall see of the travail of his soul and be satsified " ; 
that " every knee shall bow and every tongue confess to 
God " ; that " in the name of Jesus every knee shall bow 
of things in heaven and things on earth, and things under 
the earth, and that every tongue should confess that Jesus 
Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father " ; that "all 
flesh shall see the salvation of God " ; that the Good 
Shepherd goes after the last lost sheep "until he finds it" ? 
that " there shall be one fold and one shepherd " ; that it is 
a " common " salvation ; that not even death can separate 
us from the love of God ; that " all shall be taught of 
God " ; that God testifies that He will do all his pleasure ; 
that the " dead," without limit, shall be raised incorruptible ; 
that this mortal must put on immortality, for of Him and 
through Him and unto him are all things, that God may be 
all in all ; and St. John in foretelling the glorious consum- 
mation of Christ's work, says that every created thing in 
heaven, and on earth, and tinder the earth, and on the sea, 
and all things that are in them, shall ascribe " blessing and 
honor, and glory, and dominion, unto the Lamb of God 
forever" ! Amen / This is Universalisi?i ! And now dear 
reader, you are asked to consider the reasons for broad- 
casting this doctrine. 



CHAPTER IV. 









If Universalis:*! is True why Preach it ? 

Curiously enough, the above question is still propounded 
by some of our Partialist friends ; but only by those least 
informed as to the doctrines of Universalism : and the 
question implies such an obvious misconception of the 
most elementary principles of Christianity that one is sur- 
prised that an intelligent Christian should raise the inquiry. 
But the reason it is asked, is not far to seek ; for they not 
infrequently inform us that if there is no hell in the next 
world, they see no use for religion, nor for churches 1 
Now we mean to be perfectly fair in our statements ; but 
if this language means any thing, it means that fear of 
hell is the incentive that moves such to religious endeavor ! 
To escape hell and get to heaven, is, with such, the mean- 
ing of salvation. This false view of salvation has wrought 
untold mischief to the cause of Christ. Does the reader 
believe that such motives are worthy the true Christian? 
Christ sought to purify Juan's heart and teach him to love 
the right for its oivn sake ; but this class of religionists turn 
his church into a sort of insurance office. 

Now it is well for society, that evil men be restrained 
through fear, if no higher motive can be made operative 
with them ; but servile fear is not what prompts the true 
disciple of Christ to virtuous conduct. " He that feareth 
is not made perfect in love ". No doubt the question at 
the head of this chapter is often asked with a view to con- 



6o WHY. PREACH UNIVERSALISM ? 

found the Universalist, rather than to elicit the truth, as 
though no good reasons for preaching it exist ; but for the 
benefit of all sincere inquirers we now present some of the 
chief reasons why that doctrine should be disseminated. 
Most of these are so palpable that he who runs* may read. 

I. Universalism should be preached because it is true. 
No stronger reason exists for preaching any doctrine than 
that it is true. Truth is what the world needs. Untruth, 
ignorance, is the cause of sin, and sorrow, to an extent 
which words are inadequate to describe. Truth is the 
greatest saving influence in the world, while error leads us 
.astray. Truth is the antidote of error, sin and crime. 
Said the Master : " Father, sanctify them by thy truth ; thy 
word is truth". The truth must be preached that error and 
wrong may be supplanted, destroyed. Universalism has a 
great mission to perform in exposing the errors into which 
the Christian Church has fallen, in regard to the nature and 
extent of salvation, the nature and purpose of punishment, 
the atonement, heaven and hell, total depravity, the char- 
acter of God and his dealings with men — and these alone 
supply a most potent argument for preaching it. 

II. We should preach Universalism because the Bible 
teaches it. We should not hesitate and falter because we 
fear it " too good to be true ". (a) It is taught and ex- 
emplified in the nature and character of God as revealed in 
His Son, Jesus Christ, (b) It is itterated and reiterated 
in the principles which underlie all his teachings, whether 
we view them as presented in the Golden Rule, the Sermon 
on the Mount, in the TorTs Prayer, in the Parables, or in 
isolated Chapters, and in texts, innumerable, where Univer- 
salism is declared in the "very words" of its advocates. 

III. Preach Universalism because it is reasonable. 
The Bible counsels us to exercise our reasoning facul- 
ties. "Come, let us reason together saith the Lord". 
Religion, rightly understood, is reasonable, and Universal- 



WHY PREACH UNIVERSALIS^ ? 



61 



ism helps us to the most reasonable interpretation of the 
Scriptures. Reasoning, whether from the principles an- 
nounced, from the perfections of God, or from man's intui- 
tions, we arrive at the conclusion that the destiny of the 
race must be upward and onward ; that no mistake has 
been made ; that God is a perfect Architect ; and hence 
will produce a perfect work. Many are hindered from see- 
ing and believing this truth, because they think of the 
work in its unfinished form. Like the tapestry weavers who 

'iew their work from the wrong side, and do not see the 
beautiful pattern which the loom is weaving ; so men in 
their spiritual myopia view God's work solely from the 

'rong side ; and do not see the exquisite pattern which the 
loom of His providence is working out. Reason stands 
aghast at the thought of an infinite God of love, perpetu- 

.ting or permitting an endless state of sin and suffering ; 
while temporary evil finds its solution in God' s holy purpose to 
use, and overrule it, for mail s good. And we may say with, 
the poet, Soame Jenyns, in his " Origin of Evil ": 

Scarce any ill to human life belongs, 
But what our follies cause, or mutual wrongs, 
Or if some stripes from Providence we feel. 
He strikes with pity, and but wounds to heal . 

The law written in our own deeper and better selves 

lakes us recoil from the thought of endless sorrow for any 

)f our race ; and our intuitions proclaim a higher destiny 

for all, by their upward longings and nobler aspirations. 

r a?is spiritual nature being in the image of God, its intui- 
tions are godlike, and these reflect and reveal God's purpose 
in creating man. That in us, which is most like God, is most 
trust-worthy, and hence, these longings have a voice which 
:omes from God. It is God speaking in and through us, 
causing ''hope " to " spring eternal in the human breast". 

IV. Preach Universalism because it proclaims God as the 



62 WHY PREACH UNIVERSALISM ? 

Father of all mankind. This doctrine accords with the 
teachings of Christ as exhibited in many texts and para- 
bles. The parable of the Prodigal Son shows that the 
Father's arms are always open to receive the repentant 
prodigal, that He is always ready to receive and bless the 
sinner who turns from the error of his way. The parable 
of the Good Shepherd also enforces the same great truth. 
In this parable the Master shows the tender care and solici- 
tude of the Father for all His children, even those outside 
of the fold. The Lord's prayer teaches all to call God our 
Father; and Christ often speaks of Him as "my Father" 
and " your Father"; while we are told that not even a 
sparrow falls to the ground without our heavenly Father's 
notice ; and that we are of much greater value in His sight 
than many sparrows. The Fatherhood of God, and His 
fatherly care and yearning tenderness toward His children, 
are illustrated and amplified, all through the New Testa- 
ment. Not that He does not hate sin and punish the 
sinner; but His punishments are administered with a 
Father's hand, and for the good of the punished. 

V. Preach Universalism because it proclaims the Bible, 
doctrine of the Brotherhood of man. Ours is the only 
church, save the Unitarian, which explicitly teaches this 
doctrine and that of the Universal Fatherhood of God. 
If God is the Father of all, then all are brethren. God is 
a spirit and we are created in His image and are therefore 
His spiritual children. The recognition of the brotherhood 
of man is what the world needs to secure right conduct 
between men. The Golden Rule will never have its fulfil- 
ment, until this truth has become ingrained, in the hearts 
of men. Christ recognized the truth of man's brother- 
hood, and taught the highest standard of duty, when He 
said: "Whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, 
do ye even so to them ". Whenever He proclaimed God as 



WHY PREACH UNIVERSALISM ? 6$ 

Father of all, He indirectly announced that men are a 
common brotherhood. 

VI. Preach Universalism because it is a Missionary doc- 
trine, (a) By virtue of Universalism being a Christian 
doctrine, it must needs have the Christ spirit ; and its 
advocates will "go about doing good". They will heed 
the command : "Go ye into all the world and preach the 
gospel to every creature". When rightly apprehended 
Universalism must be understood as reflecting the Master's 
love and compassion for the poor and needy, for the sick 
and sorrowing, for the sinful and suffering, of every race 
and every clime. If true to Christ it will engage in mis- 
sions wherever a mission can be successfully sustained. 

(b) Since Universalism recognizes the entire world as 
the home of God's family, and the sky their common roof- 
tree, we must see that our " field is the world ". The 
brotherhood of man being a doctrine that is fundamental, 
Universalists would be neglectful of duty, inconsistent 
toward their doctrines, and untrue to their church, were they 
to fail to cultivate a broad and generous missionary spirit 
among their members. 

It has not been the fault of our church that she has not 
italicized this phase of her work, so much as her unavoid- 
able environments ; yet we have come far short of doing 
our whole duty. Of late years, however, the spirit is 
rapidly growing among us ; and soon large sums of money 
will be raised through bequests and gifts, among our peo- 
ple, to enable us to do work in this vast field, to an extent 
never dreamed of by some of the fathers. As the necessi- 
ty for controversial preaching passes away, in fields long 
held by us, the work of extending the gospel of Universal- 
ism to those less fortunate, receives more and more atten- 
tion. This is in conformity with the true spirit of our 
doctrines ; and there is no reason why the hopeful phase of 
our belief should "cut the nerve of Missions". Rather 



64 WHY PREACH UNIVERSALIS*! ? 

should it stimulate the missionary movement. Hope 
nerves us to do and dare while doubt and uncertainty 
paralyze effort. If it is a good thing for the world to be 
saved, at all, it is a good thing for it to be saved now ; and 
since the gospel was specially intended for earth, we ought 
to do more in making it eifective in the present tense. 

VII. Preach Universalism because it honors God and 
places a right value upon man. i. It defends our heavenly 
Father from the false conceptions which a past supersti- 
tious age has implanted in the minds of many of his 
children, (a) In the doctrine of the sacrificial atonement, 
which it has been, and still is, taught by most churches, 
that God's wrath was appeased by the death of His Son on 
the cross, God accepting this as a satisfaction for the sins 
of mankind, and that Christ endured infinite pain that the 
guilty might go free / In other words the vilest sinner, by 
accepting Christ, may have Christ's righteousness imputed 
to him, and Christ's suff ering substituted, and be " ticketed " 
straight home to glory ! But if some struggling soul, be he 
ever so devoted to truth and right, should be so blinded 
as not to accept this so-called proffer of mercy, he is 
doomed to endless sin and suffering I Thus our God is 
represented as worse than the vilest man. Universalism 
denies this fiction as absurd and unscriptural ; and so 
unjust and unreasonable that if true, it would impeach the 
character of God. 

(b) Universalism exalts and magnifies the name of the 
Most High. It proclaims Him infinite in all His attributes 
— Omnipotent, Omniscient and Omnipresent ; that His 
nature is love ; that His mercy and justice are correlated 
and correspondent ; and, hence, He will work out man's 
highest good. 

(c) Universalism proves by the Bible and by human 
experience that God's punishments are not arbitary and 
revengeful, but that they are remedial and beneficent. 






WHY PREACH UNIVERSALIS*! ? 65 

2. Universalism denies that man is totally depraved; 
and asserts, on the other hand, his infinite worth. 

(a) He is created in the image of God, and although 
often obscured, through ignorance, and defiled by sin, 
through the "lusts of the flesh", yet this spiritual 
image still remains, and God's value upon it is a priceless 
one. (b) It was the sinners for whom Christ died upon 
the cross. He thought them worth the sacrifice which He 
made. Man's powers and possibilities are very great and 
when once redeemed from sin will have their fulfilment in 
the attainment of God's purpose in creating him. 
* VIII. Preach Universalism because it presents right mo- 
tives for serving God and doing good, (a) It says we 
should serve Him " in the beauty of holiness ". We are 
taught to worship Him and love Him because of His love 
for us ; because of His goodness, His knowledge, and His 
power ; and especially are we " to praise Him for His 
mercy to the children of men", (b) Universalism says 
that slavish fear is not a religious motive ; but that it is 
love of the good, the true, the pure, that should lead us to 
serve a?id obey Him — these are the only right motives to 
Christian conduct. (c) It says we may. not hope to 
escape the just consequences of our wrong actions ; for 
"vice is its own avenger"; but "in doing good there is 
great reward ". 

IX. Preach Universalis??! because it proclaims the cer- 
tainty of just punishments, (a) " He that doeth wrong 
shall receive for the wrong he hath done ". (b) " God will 
by no means clear the guilty ". (c) He will punish men 
" according to the deeds done in the body. 1 ' Universalis??! is 
the only doctri?ie that declares with the Bible, for full and 
adequate punish??ient for all sin. The "Orthodox" pro- 
claim unjust punishments, coupled with uncertainty, while 
Universalists proclaim that there is no escape from just 
punish??ient. All others, save Unitarians, allow some way 



66 WHY PREACH UNIVERSALISM ? 

of escape for even the vilest sinner, on the theory of im- 
puted righteousness and vicariotis suffering ! Thus these 
false teachers would defeat the ends of justice, and make 
of God's mercy an idle mockery. 

X. Preach Universalism becatise thoughtful people are 
rejecting the Scriptures on account of the false doctrines 
and unjust principles which " Orthodoxy " has so long set 

forth as the teaching of the Bible. Universalism explains, 
in accordance with right reason and correct interpreta- 
tion, those passages supposed to teach the doctrine of a 
cruel God and an endless hell ; and it defends the Bible 
from many of the false charges made against it, by infidels, 
by reason of this false interpretation, which upholds un- 
just principles, and presents our heavenly Father in a 
repulsive and monstrous light. Universalism assures us, 
that, when rightly understood, the principles taught in the 
Bible, are just and righteous. 

XI. Preach Universalism because it explains many of 
the dark problems of life. i. The ills of this life are ac- 
counted for on the ground of God's holy purpose to disci- 
pline his children here, to heighten their joys there — both 
here and there if they receive them in the right spirit, (a) 
" Our light afflictions work out for us a much more exceed- 
ing and eternal weight of glory ". Did we not suffer afflic- 
tion we could never know the joy of freedom from pain 
and sorrow. These obstacles we contend with, these 
afflictions we bear, develop our powers, and, in the next 
life, must make our happiness all the greater, by reason of 
the contrast. Thus God is schooling us for both this life 
and the life to come. We should, therefore, accept 
patiently and submissively, whatever comes to us of evil, 
that we cannot prevent. "Be ye reconciled to God". 
" Christ was made perfect through suffering ", and may we 
not see our own advancement on this line? (b) What is a 
" sealed book " here, will be disclosed there. "Now we see 



WHY PREACH UNIVERSALIS*! ? 67 

through a glass darkly, but then face to face". "Then we 
shall know as we are known ". 

XII. Preach Universalis™ because it is a doctrine of 
hope, (a) The dying need this hope. But hope for our 
friends, for our brethren, for an elect-few, only, will never 
satisfy the soul of a true Christian. In God's providence, 
the Christian must see that all are tending upward, "to 
one far off divine event ", ere he can be satisfied. He 
must be able to say with Tennyson : 

" Oh, yes, we trust that some how good 
Will be the final goal of ill, 
To pangs of nature, sins of will, 
Defects of doubt and taints of blood. 

"That nothing walks with aimless feet, 
That not one life shall be destroyed, 
Or cast as rubbish to the void, 
When God hath made the pile complete ". 

Universalism is a doctrine full of hope and encourage- 
ment for all ; and no other doctrine is so well fitted to 
comfort the sick and dying. It bids them look beyond 
life's sorrows and afflictions, to that "house not made with 
hands, eternal in the heavens", prepared for each child of 
God, where all the race of man, no broken family, shall at 
length come to enjoy Him forever. 

(b) The living need this hope. The sinful, surrounded 
by temptation, and all, who are struggling against adversi- 
ty, to develop the better self within, need to hear this 
voice of " eternal hope", to give them renewed courage to 
fight the battles of life. Without this hope, as a living 
faith, they are in danger of yielding to discouragements 
and despondency. To all such the Universalist can go 
with the hope of a blessed immortality for all mankind ; 
and can point them to the promises of God, and to the 



68 WHY PREACH UNIVERSALISM ? 

precepts and example of the Master for their comfort and 
guidance. 

(c) We all need this hope. We need it in life and we 
need it in the hour of death. We need it for ourselves and 
we need it that we may impart it to others. Hope is 
always better than despair. Positive faith is better than 
doubt. This hope is the only thing that can assuage our 
griefs in the supreme moment of the death of our dear ones. 
Universalism has no dismal forebodings of " the world to 
come". It says that man's worst enemy is himself ; that 
we need to be saved from our baser selves ; that when the 
" lusts of the flesh " are dropped away from us we shall 
have a vision less clouded, and that our progress toward 
the perfections of our heavenly Father, will be accelerated. 

(d) Mothers, fathers and children need this hope. We 
are sure that many good people take Partialism at second 
hand, and do not consider the awfulness of their doctrines ;. 
for oh, how many poor mothers have been driven to 
insanity, because they believed their dear child was forever 
lost ! Yes : preach Universalism to save the mothers 
from the awful anguish which the dreadful nightmare of 
endless woe brings to them, to rack and torment them, day 
and night. If men and women really believed this doc- 
trine, as many of these mothers have done, unless they 
have hearts of stone, they, too, would be unhappy ; 
because, if true, each moment of the world's existence,, 
some poor souls are dropping, dropping, into that abysmal 
pit of ceaseless woe ! And who knows but the next victim, 
or some victim, will be our own dear friend, who thus goes 
down, down, where no ray of light can penetrate the 
gloom ; where no cheering hope can come, freighted with 
heavenly breezes to fan the fevered brow ; where no words 
of peace can still the agonizing soul ! Ah, without the 
hope of Universalism, which is native in the heart of every 
tender soul, what would the world be ? It must then be 



WHY PREACH UNIVERSALISM ? 69 

shrouded with gloom, and despair be depicted on all faces ! 
Universalism transforms all this. It shows us the Father, 
infinitely loving and tender, who, " though He cause grief, 
yet will He have compassion ". Universalism is the only 
religion that can adequately satisfy the longings of any 
loving human soul ; and in the hour of death, it is the only 
faith that can penetrate the darkness that shrouds the 
tomb. It is the only hope that rims the heavens with the 
rainbow of promise, and enables us to see by an eye of 
faith, our dear ones wafted on the wings of God's love into 
the radiant splendors of a home immortal. 

XIII. We should preach Universalism that the masses 
may rightly understand it. Universalism, to be efficacious, 
must be rightly apprehended, and ' its precepts practiced. 
These doctrines have been caricatured ; and unless the 
pople hear them stated as they are, how can they under- 
stand them, and be blessed by them ? And how can they 
hear without a preacher ? We must preach Universalism 
in order that its enemies may become its friends, and that 
all people may aid in disseminating its truth for the uplift- 
ing of the race. 

And now, dear reader, do you accept this larger hope ? 
And if so, are you doing what you can to spread it abroad 
for the good of mankind? If Universalism is God's truth 
it ought to be taught to all His children, and there are 
rnany ways in which you and I may advance this cause. 
We can do it by having the courage of our convictions. 
We can do it by attending and supporting the church that 
teaches this doctrine. We can help on this work by 
becoming laborers in the church and Sunday-school. Are 
we doing these things as best we can ? Or, are we " hiding 
our light under a bushel", by giving our money, and in- 
fluence, in support of doctrines we inwardly detest ? Tens 
-of thousands, in other churches, are thus hiding their light, 
who ought to be with us. If the Universalist Church 



70 WHY PREACH UNIVERSALISM ? 

could receive within her own borders, all who entertain this 
larger hope, it would then, no doubt, be the most numer- 
ous body of Christians ; and would wield a power for good 
simply incalculable ! Oh, that men would be true to their 
convictions ! We are enjoined to let our light shine. Are 
we doing this ? Are we helping to lead the world out of 
superstitious belief into more correct views of God, and 
kindlier sympathies among men? 

On every hand we see discord, strife contention, sorrow., 
and often oppression. Shall we not as we find opportunity 
minister to the wants of humanity and thus help to 

"Ring out the darkness of the land, 
Ring in the Christ that is to be "? — 

" O, dear friends, journeying onward, 

You of Christ's great brotherhood, 
Heed the lessons which he gives you, 

Standing out in his blessed word, 
Strong and clear and full of meaning : 

" Come, if you would follow me, 
Down among the poor and lowly 

Here your Christian work must be.. 

"Wiping off the tears of sorrow, 

Speaking to the weary, cheer, 
Feeding, clothing poor and needy, 

To the sin-stained drawing near, 
With a hand stretched out to help them,. 

And a heart to take them in, 
Leading them with earnest pleading 

To forsake the ways of sin. 

" This the path which you must follow :, 

This the way the Savior trod, 
And he teaches this will lead you 

Into peace and up to God. 
'Tis in deeds we serve the Master ; 

Words are idle, empty prayer, 
All our Christian life a pretence 

If the deeds are wanting there. 



CHAPTER V. 



Shall We be Revived? 

The objection which exists among many liberal Chris- 
tians toward revival meetings, has its root in their abuse 
and not in the thing itself. False doctrines and unworthy- 
methods have so abounded that many, even in the so-called 
Orthodox churches have become disgusted with them \ and 
large numbers have .thus been driven into skepticism and 
infidelity. There can, however, be no valid objection to a 
revival of true religion. Freed from the common clap- 
trap of ordinary revivals, freed from the false incentive of 
a morbid fear, and other unworthy motives, which have 
brought Christianity into discredit with many of the think- 
ing classes, we heartily believe in revivals. The follow- 
ing, which we quote from The Gospel Banner, has the right 
ring as to the kind of revivals which ought, and which 
ought not obtain, among Universalists. The editor says : 

" We believe in revivals. All Universalists do so believe. 
We do not believe in reviving the fears of humanity by a 
portrayal of the divine nature and government in terms so 
fearful and lurid as to make that nature and government 
appear more unlovely and shocking than any presented on 
the pages of human history. We do not believe that any 
person is helped by exciting his nervous system to un- 
healthy action through representations of his liability to 
an endless hell beyond this life, for being a sinner who was 



7 2 SHALL WE BE REVIVED ? 

placed in this world without the ability to comply with the 
conditions of escape from the awful doom beyond. To 
paint God thus, to state human contingency thus, to say in 
connection that an angry Creator accepted an innocent 
substitute for man's guilt and punishment, and if man fails 
to reach heaven the fault is his own, is only to confuse the 
needy one, who, if he is moved to do something "to save 
his soul ", is governed by a motive as low and selfish as 
any the gospel of the Savior plainly condemns. We do 
not need a revival of such false ideas and fears and of 
such selfish efforts. We do not need a revival of hysterical 
religion in any of its manifestations. 

" We do need a revival of the love of God as a Father 
who loves every sinner, who sent His Son to teach man 
and lead him out of error and sin, into truth and righteous- 
ness ; a revival of faith in God, in the gospel, in heaven, 
in the spirit's endless life, a revival of love for men, and 
interest in all that makes for the progress of the world in 
the divine way ; a revival of sympathy and good-will among 
all classes, and of common effort to build up the kingdom 
of heaven on earth. Shall we not be thus revived ?" 

This is the kind of revival our church has already 
inaugurated; but it needs extending and widening and 
deepening. These true revivals ought to come to our 
churches oftener than they do. We do not usually keep 
them up long enough to reap the best results. Often our 
people are slow to come together, many remaining away 
until nearly a week of meetings has passed by, while some 
come only on the Sabbath day. In this way a series of 
meetings is closed before any impression can be made 
upon the masses. We ought to contrive some means of 
reaching the lukewarm and the indifferent. Perhaps our 
series of meetings should begin on Sunday and in this way 
many more would become interested and remain to the 
close. Let our people help the preacher to plan, to map 



SHALL WE BE REVIVED? 73 

out the work, to put every thing in readiness, and do all 
that can be done to have large numbers present at such 
meetings, that they may be instructed and helped by these 
seasons of refreshing from the presence of the Lord. It is 
a good thing to be zealously affected in a good cause ; and 
as Universalists we ought to be thus affected more than 
what we are. 

Rev. E. F. Temple, pastor of one of our Eastern 
churches, in a sermon on "The True Revival", says : 

" No thoughtful mind will dissent from the utility of a 
religious revival. Man is not so fashioned that he can 
preserve without variation a prescribed condition of 
spiritual interest. A continued balance is something 
unknown in the history of the religious consciousness. 
We live in a busy world. Much of our time is engrossed 
in a struggle for material existence. Cares multiply. 
Burdens rest upon our shoulders that we forget can be 
made lighter by a prayer. The bread of life is put aside 
unbroken, and in its stead is taken up the juiceless husks. 
It is not always easy to account for those periods of relig- 
ious depression with which every experience is familiar. 
One thing we well know. The time is when they come. 
Our zeal flags. Our ardor cools. Our endeavors cease. 
More worldly considerations enlist our energy. No longer 
is earth the footstool whereon we may climb to peer into 
the treasuries of Heaven. The prophet's face is veiled. 
The psalmist's melody falls on a deadened sense. Lips are 
compressed which were once spontaneous with prayer. 
Tasks are performed with a mechanical exactness that 
seems born of the most abject desolation. To counteract 
this spiritual indifference we need what, for want of a bet- 
ter name, we call revivals. 

" Thus far most men are agreed. No one will defend a 
godless existence. The wayward are not in love with the 
negations their own indifference has imposed. Countless 



74 SHALL WE BE REVIVED ? 

witnesses arise to declare the advantages of a condition of 
religious activity. But there are revivals and revivals. The 
same name covers a multitude of operations as widely dif- 
ferent in character as an ice-bound landscape is different 
from a scene in the tropics. When men speak of revivals- 
they do not always mean the same thing. No one will dis- 
sent from an awakening of the religious consciousness, but 
opinion is divergent and sharply defined when the question 
touches method. 

"Spiritual inertness affects men collectively no less than 
as individuals. Churches become dormant. Prayer-meet- 
ings dwindle. Sunday-schools decay. Everything that 
pertains to the religious life of the community is at a dis- 
count. Of such exigencies are born revivals. To degen- 
erate religionists, John the Baptist cried, " repent." To 
careless multitudes burdened with self-imposed regulations, 
which had in them no genuine religious warmth, Jesus" 
revealed the god-like in the form of a kindly word and a 
beneficent action. A true revival is the breath of God 
breathed into the soul of man to quicken into energized 
wakefulness the divinity within, which, through some 
worldly consideration, has been permitted to slumber." 

" Religious meetings cease to be helpful when the excite- 
ment runs so high as to deprive men of their judgment and 
clear-headedness. The Heaven whose precincts are sought 
as the only refuge from the knotted whip is likely to prove 
no Heaven at all after the first flash of enthusiasm is spent, 
and that nervous reaction comes which is the unavoidable 
result of a strained condition of the emotions." 

He also says : 

" Revivals that encourage self-seeking are hardly of a 
character to win approval. There is too great a contrast 
between such methods and the unselfish practices of the 
Nazarene. I am not inclined to agree with the popular 
theory that motive is indifferent in the struggle for results. 



SHALL WE BE REVIVED ? 75 

Heaven is not worth gaining if its doors are opened only 
through a sacrifice of principle. There are those who 
would be far happier to stay out than to be driven in by an 
excitement occasioned by fear, or accept admission at the 
price of yielding to some inducement that has its origin in 
worldly interest. 

"Sometimes revivals are instituted with good intent 
which degenerate into a hot contest for creed instead of 
awakening the divinity within, in behalf of its source in 
the heart of God. The true revival is a revival of religion, 
not a reach after new converts to a system of theology. 
Make a bonfire and burn up the creed-books, and let the 
flames as they rise kindle within the heart that is frigid 
with indifference a genuine religious glow. "And no man 
putteth new wine into old bottle, else the new wine will 
burst the bottles, and be spilled, and the bottles shall per- 
ish. But new wine must be put into new bottles, and both 
are preserved." A revival to be effective must go to the 
bojttom of things, and throw away the old bottles. A 
theology which portrays unrelenting wrath cannot be a 
willing receptacle for the spirit of God. New wine must 
be put into new bottles when the old are no longer safe. 

"Young people are too often led into mistaking theology 
for religion. Theology is simply opinion about God. It 
is what you think. Religion is energized action in behalf 
of godliness. It is not what you believe, but zv hat you are. 
If I am thankful to my God for one benefaction more than 
for another it is for that religious liberty which permits me 
to seek the freest intercourse with divinity, far from the 
reach of the exactions of an iron-bound creed. Standing 
in this consecrated place where so many godly men have 
stood and spoken to you words of love, and before Avhich 
you have breathed your devoutest aspirations and offered' 
up your choicest prayers, I am glad that when I direct your 
attention to this sacred Book, it is my mission to declare 



76 SHALL WE BE REVIVED ? 

that in it there is record only of the unfailing mercy of 
God. On one side " God the Father." Fathers who have 
an infinitude of love in their fatherhood have warmth in 
their bosoms for even the wayward child. On the other 
side, " Christ our Savior." Long ago a Palestine prophet 
breathed out of his wondrous life healing enough for all 
the hurts of the world. The revival we need is to put as- 
surance of this sweeping mission into the roots of every 
•despairing soul. The genuine Christian is he who puts into 
every to-day enough love to make him fit to receive 
to-morrow. 

"I so long to help you, my people, to understand that 
religion is not an annex to human nature, which you must 
stifle every natural impulse to gain. I know of no reason, 
whatever, why every legitimate amusement is not perfectly 
compatible with a devout attitude of spirit. We have 
•social natures which were given us to cultivate just as we 
have religious natures which solicit our happiest care. 
There is a distinction between worldliness and a receptive 
spirit for enjoyment. Worldliness is self-seeking, a per- 
sonal reach to the detriment of the interests of another. 
True enjoyment is the gratification of a natural desire. 
Any amusement that brings fresh vigor to the muscles, and 
a flush of warm sunshine to the heart does not shut in your 
faces the door of Heaven. True religion is something as 
natural as the air you breathe. You cannot be forced into 
it by any method not strictly in accord with the revealed 
facts of human nature. You cannot put new wine into old 
bottles and expect both wine and bottles to be preserved. 
Only last week I was asked by a thoughtful boy what it is 
to be a Christian. I told him what I repeat to you to-day, 
to be a Christian is to cherish a continued resolve to do the 
very best you can. The incentive must come from within. 
There are none perfect. There are none with hearts so 



SHALL WE BE REVIVED? 77 

full of grace that they can say, " Lord, I have finished the 
work Thou gavest me to do." 

On this line, dear reader, the people of the Universalist 
Church should pray and enthusiastically labor to promote 
revivals among us. Oh, for such revivals every- where ! 



CHAPTER VI. 



Are We Too Sectarian? 

Is the Universalist Church too sectarian? On this ques- 
tion there seems a difference of opinion among some of 
our leading divines ; but we judge the difference is one of 
statement rather than of fact. We cannot understand why 
we should not be sectarian in the best sense of the word. 
If we have a faith spperior to all other faiths, shall we not 
labor to inculcate it? If the Universalist Church holds 
the best and truest interpretation of the gospel of Christ, 
ought we not labor earnestly and intelligently to build up 
a large membership ? Ought we not preach our doctrines 
"in demonstration of the spirit and power"? Ought we 
not do all we reasonably can to plant new churches and 
revive dormant ones, to the end that the borders of our 
Zion may be enlarged, and our cause strengthened every- 
where? In this sense we are not sufficiently sectarian. 
There is a work which the Universalist Church is called to 
do that no other church is doing, nor can do, as at present 
constituted. True, the Unitarian Church is doing much 
that is needed to be done, in lifting the Christian thought 
of the day above the fogs of superstition ; but even she is 
crippled and hindered, and falls short of her possibilities, 
for want of a more definite aim and purpose. 

If Universalism is the key that unlocks God's great 
arcana in such way as to reveal to man certain truths for 



ARE WE TOO SECTARIAN ? 79 

"his illumination — truths not held and promulgated by other 
sects — then our church is charged with a work of great 
moment ; and there is no course left for us but to go 
forward and be faithful to the call. And this work must 
go on until sister churches take up our work without 
equivocation. The present attitude of these churches, is 
one of enforced quiescence, rather than of assent to our 
position; while the modern "evangelist" deals out the 
same old hydra-headed monstrosities as did the old-time 
revivalist, minus only his cruder statements and harsher 
manners. True, there are many pulpits among so-called 
evangelical sects that are quite liberal, and sympathize 
with us ; but while they do not believe nor preach " Or- 
thodoxy " they do not, unequivocally, preach Universalism. 
They have no clear perception of the eternal verities as 
Universalists understand them ; or, if they have, they lack 
the loyalty to truth required to proclaim them. Hence 
their preaching assumes an agnostic form instead of 
explicitness and certitude. They are like the hunter who 
hunts for nothing and comes home empty ; therefore, the 
plea, sometimes heard, that there exists no great need for the 
Universalist Church, because other churches have taken up 
her work, is fallacious and deceptive. When will the time 
ever come that this church can say her mission is fulfilled ? 
"What does the Universalist Church stand for ? Is the time 
likely to come in the near future when our doctrines will 
be understood by the masses ? And must they not be 
taught to the generations yet unborn ? Verily, the work 
for our church is vast indeed, and it is idle to talk other- 
wise. True, we cannot afford to allow the impression to go 
out to the world that Ul sect-building' is our chief concern". 
But sect-building that we may the better and more widely 
do the other Christian work, of teaching right views of 
God and His government, of bringing large numbers of 
His children under correct instruction and move them to 



80 ARE WE TOO SECTARIAN ? 

Christian endeavor — this is one of the noblest achieve- 
ments which any church can undertake. 

The Universalist Church is not here for sect-building 
merely, but for that and something more. Sect-building is 
essential to any large measure of success in Christianizing 
the world. Universalists have not seemed to realize the 
vastness of the work before them, and the pressing need 
for a large membership, and an effective organization. 
Our opportunity is golden, and our possibilities are great. 
Unless we go forward, not only in sect-building, but in all 
Christian endeavor to reform and bless the world, let us 
say less of the breadth, and depth, and heighth, and the 
beauty, and the worth of Universalism. We hold certain 
great truths, for lack of which, the world is perishing ; and 
we are disloyal to our duty, to our church, and the truth, if 
we fail to labor, to the best of our ability, to make our 
church efficient in carrying forward this work. Our mis- 
sion, so far as we understand it, is to do the work of a 
Christian body, to present, not a one-sided view of Univer- 
salism, but to the best of our knowledge and ability, the 
whole gospel of Christ, that His truth may yield its legiti- 
mate fruits in the regeneration of the world. What less 
than this can we do and do our duty ? Says Rev. T. J. 
Sawyer, D. D., writing upon this theme : 

" Instead of being too sectarian, we are not half sectar- 
ian enough. We do not love our faith and cause as we 
ought, nor are we doing in their behalf what we should. 
We are too tolerant of mischievous errors and not earnest 
enough for wholesome, Christian truths. If Universalists 
were as ready to sacrifice and suffer for their blessed faith, 
as others often are who " spend their money for that which 
is not bread and their labor for that which satisneth not," 
our churches would not languish as some of them do, our 
institutions of learning would not remain year after year 
in want of needed funds, and our ^missionary work would 



ARE WE TOO SECTARIAN ? 8 1 

not be the palsied and insignificant thing that it now is. 
Our people hardly need to be persuaded that they are too 
sectarian. What they need is to be aroused to a profound 
sense of the position our church holds in the religious 
world and the work it has to do." 

Again he says : 

" In my poor ministry, let me confess, I never enter- 
tained a doubt that Universalism— meaning by that wo.rd 
the whole system of faith of which the salvation of all man- 
kind is the final issue and crowning glory — is not only- 
Christian, but, as I understood and endeavored to preach- 
it, is the highest and best interpretation of the gospel of 
Christ, and is therefore the power of God unto salvation to 
every one that believes. I have therefore been ambitious 
to convert not only orthodox people but infidels and 
skeptics to the faith I myself held and by which I felt 
myself blessed. I have also been anxious to make Uni- 
versalist societies and wish that I could have multiplied 
them ten-fold. It is only when men are converted to the 
faith, and if possible gathered into parishes and churches, 
that we have opportunities of educating and training them, 
in Christian duties and life. This is the condition upon 
which we can exhort them to walk according to their voca- 
tion, and let their light shine. 

" I have one word more. Other Christian churches or 
communities are filled, and to no small extent maintained 
by people who make slight professions of piety or any 
special Christian living. They are generally reputable, 
industrious and thriving people, who are benefitted, no 
doubt, intellectually, morally, and socially, by being con- 
nected, however loosely, with their respective churches, and 
repay the blessing in part by contributing of their " tem- 
poral things " to their support and the advancement of 
their various benevolent enterprises. Are we alone to 
refuse all this external aid, and insist that only saints shall 



82 ARE WE TOO SECTARIAN ? 

hold seats in our churches or contribute to our work ? On 
the contrary shall we not exhibit some of the wisdom of 
the world if we welcome all the help that willingly comes 
in our way and utilize it as other churches know so well 
how to do ? 

"Finally, let it be the aim and earnest endeavor of all to 
make our church stronger. Let us not fear being too sec- 
tarian. If we believe the truth we profess let us preach it 
with all the power that God has given us. Let us be ambi- 
tious t ) convert the world to the faith we hold, to multiply 
our parishes as fast as possible, and kindle them all with a 
genuine love of it and willingness to labor and sacrifice for 
its promotion. If we are faithful and devoted the world 
will take knowledge of us, and be the more ready to enter 
into the joy shared by all those who truly love the 
Lord and labor for the advancement of his kingdom." 

It is no bigoted or partisan sense in which Dr. Sawyer 
would have us be denominational ; but in a deep and 
broad sense, that of loyalty to the truth and love for man- 
kind, to which is added a manifestation of that love by 
putting in motion all the best influences to build up the 
truth in the lives of men. On this theme Rev. F. M. 
Alvord speaks at some length. We quote a few pertinent 
passages. He says : 

"Abuses may grow out of denominations, as they grow 
out of the family, relation, and out of every good institu- 
tion. Our choicest blessings may be perverted by the 
greed, selfishness, and wickedness of mankind. Still we 
cannot dispense with the family, with the denomination, or 
good institution. And if Universalists become exclusive, 
narrow, bigoted, and proscriptive, in becoming denomina- 
tional they do so in direct contravention to the principles they 
clurish. We cannot burn heretics, and justify ourselves 
on the ground that God will burn them in the immortal 
world. We cannot deal damnation around the land on 



ARE WE TOO SECTARIAN? 8$ 

each we judge the foe of God, for it is a cardinal principle 
with us, that all are His children, " constitute His family, 
one brotherhood, on whom He bestows His impartial love, 
His free grace, His constant care : that all differences, dis- 
tinctions and divisions shall be overcome by the light of 
truth and the power of love, and that the last lost wanderer 
shall be brought into the fold of the one Shepherd, and 
God be all in all. Can such principles infused into the 
souls of men, lead to selfishness and sectarianism ?" No, 
dear brother, they cannot, in the narrow sense of sectar- 
ianism, and for that reason I love that denomination which 
is founded upon those broad principles, and am therefore 
decidedly denominational." 

Air. Alvord further says : 

" Perhaps we are better organized to-day, are more 
thoroughly denominational than we have been at any pre- 
vious period. And when did we ever do better work for 
God and humanity ? When was our influence as a church 
more felt and acknowledged than in this year of grace ? 
And could we reach all whose sympathies and faith are with 
us, who are outside of our church, and many of them in 
the partialist churches, and make them feel their obliga- 
tions to our faith, the duty they owe it — could we bring all 
L niversalists into our fellowship and cause them to cherish 
a strong denominational feeling, what a mighty spiritual 
force our church would be in the world. How it would 
turn, and overturn old creeds, old superstitions and narrow 
views until the kingdoms of this world should become the 
kingdoms of our Lord and His Christ." 

In conclusion we would say that we regard Universalism 
as the central truth in the gospel of Christ ; the golden 
mean between credulity and skepticism ; and the bed-rock 
on which the battle for Christianity must be fought out. 
On this basis and this alone is the argument for Christian- 
ity impregnable. We plead not for sectarianism as an end, 



84 ARE WE TOO SECTARIAN ? 

nor on partisan grounds ; but that the truth shall prevail 
and bless mankind. And while we should always endeavor 
to keep the " unity of the spirit " with all men, be they 
Christian or pagan, and labor with all who are fighting the 
common foe of mankind ; yet we cannot afford to be 
pacific at the cost of conviction to truth. We must not 
be needlessly polemic ; but to cry peace, peace, when there 
is no peace, does not accord with the life and teaching of 
Christ and St. Paul. 



CHAPTER VII. 



The Relation of the Church to the Poorer Classes. 

Said the Chicago Interior, not long since : " The 
Churches do not look sufficiently after the poor districts in 
large cities but the devil does. The churches are looking 
after the rich avenues ; while in such districts theaters and 
saloons abound. 

" Evils in great cities must be counteracted by a vigilant 
and fearless government, by the press and Christianity ; 
and the latter must not consist of mere ecclesiasticism, nor 
the centering of culture in fashionable squares, in splendid 
religious establishments, but a hand to hand contest with 
the ignorant, the poor and needy, and with the children. 

" In this work we are not keeping pace with the growth 
of population. In 1840, there was in Chicago, one church 
for every 747 people, and in 1862, one for every 1300. 
But in 1880 there was one for every 2031 of the population. 
That is a pretty steep down grade and these figures suggest 
an arithmetical problem : How long will it take to heathen- 
ize Chicago? In a district of 50,000, it is said there is 
Sunday-school accommodations for only 2000, with 7200 
arrests of boys and girls for petty crimes !" 

Is not this an appalling state of things ? And yet we do 
not believe that Chicago is wicked above all other cities. 
While there are many false charges made against the 
church, yet she is not, in our judgment, wholly blameless. 
When we remember that one of the proofs which Jesus 



86 RELATION OF THE CHURCH TO THE POOR. 

sent to John the Baptist, when in prison, to assure the 
latter of his Messiahship, was : "The poor have the gospel 
preached to them" we may well pause to reflect whether 
the church of our day is not remiss in her duties toward 
the poorer classes. We are not oblivious to the fact that 
the poor, are, themselves, largely to blame for not utilizing 
the church more for their advancement than what they do. 
Improvidence and the drinking customs impoverish them 
largely and so demoralize thern that it is difficult for the 
church to wield any healthful influence over large numbers 
of these unfortunates. Nevertheless, it is the poor who 
need the special care and consideration of the church. 

But the best way to reach and benefit this class who are 
despoiled by the saloon, is to abolish the saloon. But how 
can that be done ? Well that is a large problem ; yet the 
church, were she to put on the whole armor of God, is 
capable of solving very great problems. The church must 
not only aim to save individuals ; but its work is to save 
society, to save the masses. Says the Methodist Times, of 
London, England : 

"Who that has come into close contact with all sorts 
and conditions of men can doubt that the question of 
questions to-day, is the social question. Can Christianity 
deal with the social misery which crouches under the 
shadow of every church ? Can Christianity lay the ax to 
the root of that upas tree ? If it can we may await in 
peace the final decision of Hebrew scholars with respect to 
the pentateuch. If it cannot, the battle is lost, lost, and 
all the Hebrew scholars in the world cannot save us. It is 
quite true that all genuine reformation must work from 
within. But it must also work from without. Human 
weakness and human ignorance as well as human sinful- 
ness need an environment favorable to virtue. But while 
thousands of London families live in one room virtue is 
impossible. If Christianity cannot alter all that Christian- 



RELATION OF THE CHURCH TO THE POOR. 87 

ity will be rejected by the twentieth century. The success 
of Christianity has become the trial of Christianity. Men 
are at last aware that the existing social condition of mil- 
lions of the people would have been impossible, if all who 
profess and call themselves Christians, had carried out the 
instruction of the Master, The time has fully come for 
courageous believers in Jesus Christ to undertake the salva- 
tion of society, as well as the individual." 

While the cases here presented of London and Chicago 
are the most extreme perhaps, yet they are so nearly 
approximated in many other Christian cities as to present 
an alarming condition of things which should arouse our 
Christian pulpits to the need of a more practical adminis- 
tration of the religion of Jesus. The church has done a 
noble work for humanity and does not deserve all the 
censure that has been leveled at her ; nevertheless, there is 
vast room for improvement and especially should there be 
devised a means of reaching and benefitting the masses as 
has never yet been done. What that means should be we 
do not clearly discern, but we do feel that too little stress has 
q laid upon the humanity of Christ's gospel, not enough 
made of the brotherhood oi man. In other words the mere 
form of religion without the practical phase of serving 
others, has too commonly held sway. We are not given to 
pessimistic ideas, but we confess that here is a problem 
which presents an untoward aspect and one that ought to 
receive the candid consideration of Christians of every 
name. 

Another phase of this question is the large number of 
the unemployed poor. It is one thing to refuse to work 
when work at fair wages is to be had, but it is quite another 
thing to be willing and capable and yet unable to find 
employment at all. In all great cities large numbers of 
able-bodied and capable men and women are unable to 
secure employment at all, and this fact will account for 



£8 RELATION OF THE CHURCH TO THE POOR. 

much of the sin, and crime, and pauperism which exist. 
This, in our view, is the most difficult and alarming phase 
of the labor question. The question of higher wages for 
those who have employment does not disturb our equani- 
mity at all like the question of employment at fair wages 
of the unemployed. And we believe that the church when 
engaged in helping to solve this, and all similar problems, 
is doing the work which Christ, if He were on earth, to- 
day, would most love to see. We put the question whether 
the good Samaritan phase of Christ's religion has not been 
too much neglected ; and whether the practical side of His 
teaching, especially our duty to our fellow-men, does not 
need a restatement, and be burned afresh upon the minds and 
hearts of all His followers. See how these poor and others 
are falling among thieves, being robbed of their earnings, 
their characters ; and their wives and children left defense- 
less ! And where are our good Samaritans to-day to pour 
the oil of consolation upon their crushed hearts ? See 
how our statesmen (God save the mark) evade the question 
which alone can protect these women and children ! Let 
the church array itself against the saloon, every-where; let 
the pulpit preach a more practical, every- day religious 
truth, that bears upon the betterment of the condition of 
these classes. We must have " an environment favorable to 
virtue", and we must close the avenues so favorable to vice, 
ere these classes can be redeemed. The pulpit must of 
necessity lead in this matter, for no sufficient number of 
others will do so. We need at this juncture a statesman- 
ship of which we seem deficient. The pulpit must cry 
aloud and spare not. She must arouse the consciences of 
men and help to create a class of valiant men and states- 
men, such as Dr. Holland called for in 1856, when a new 
•dispensation seemed to be demanded by reason of the 
insincerity and self-seeking of many of the politicians in 
that day. His language is equally applicable, to-day : 






RELATION OF THE CHURCH TO THE POOR. 89 

"• God give us men ! A time like this demands 
Strong minds, great hearts, true faith and ready hands; 
Men whom the lust of office does not kill ; 
Men whom the spoils of office cannot buy ; 
Men who possess opinions and a will ; 
Men who have honor ; men who will hot lie ; 
Men who can stand before a demagogue, 
And damn his treacherous flateries without winking. 
Tall men, sun-crowned, who live above the fog 
In public duty, and in private thinking ; 
For while the rabble, with their thumb-worn creeds, 
Their large professions and their little deeds, — 
Mingle in selfish strife, lo ! Freedom weeps, 
Wrong rules the land, and waiting justice sleeps." 
When will London be redeemed from the evils which she 
has allowed to feed and fester upon the body politic ? 
And shall not we, in this country, take warning and strike 
down the drink demon before it is forever too late ? Lis- 
ten to what Archdeacon Farrar says of London's poor : 
" There are 60,000 — 'sons and daughters' of misery, and the 
multitude ready to perish — who live in single rooms; and 
30,000 yet more wretched, if that be conceivable, who 
no regular homes at all, and 80,000 fallen women, 
whose condition involves a frightful area of retributive 
misery, offered to the Moloch of men's disordered selfish- 
ness in London streets", " living in rookeries" in a district 
which is a " leveling, poverty-striking, slum-creating 
power", whose inhabitants must "strain every sense and 
absorb every power in the struggle for existence", so that 
" leaden indifference to religion is the result of hopeless 
poverty " ! 

And what are the chief causes in the production of this 
poverty according to Mr. Farrar? While he mentions 
other great causes he says : " The monster evil of Eng- 
land at this moment is still drink. It is, to use the phrase 



90 CHRISTIAN CO-OPERATION. 

applied by Emerson, to the far less universal and over- 
whelming evil of slavery, 'An accursed mountain of sorrow ! r 
In London district, about 30,000 are yearly arrested for 
drunkenness, and of these 15,600 are women"! This 
same authority says : "It will be conceded by almost all 
readers that, whatever be the moral and social dangers 
which threaten the future, they cannot but be intensified to 
an indefinite degree if religion loses its hold upon the 
masses of the people ". It is in fighting these common 
foes of mankind that we must look for 

Christian Co-operation. 

On this line all denominations should unite their forces. 
Organic union, we do not deem practicable ; hut practical 
unity should be gradually brought about in such way as to 
hurl the forces of all the churches unitedly against the 
great evils which curse society. No attempt to have one 
church swallow up all the others can possibly be successful 
in the near future. We quite agree with the New York 
Tribune, which, in speaking of Protestant Unity, says : 

" If the old historic divisions of Protestantism were 
healed to-morrow, new questions would constantly arise 
that would cause other divisions. This is inevitably so ; 
for the right of private judgment lies at the very founda- 
tion of Protestantism, and in exercising that right men 
must differ, not only in their views of theology, but in 
their conceptions of religious truth. And for a long time 
to come those differences will be embodied in special 
organizations. It may be as The Andover Review writer 
says, that the present divisions of Protestantism enfold no 
living thought of the Christianity of this age, and serve 
simply to emphasize and recall the theological differences 
of an age that is past. If so the denominations will soon 
cease to perpetuate them and will fall into new divisions 
that will enfold some living thought of the age. And so 



CHRISTIAN CO-OPERATION. 9 1 

the process will go on from generation to generation, so 
long as men continue to think on the great problem of 
human life and destiny. Of course there is a grievous 
waste of thought and effort involved in denominationaiism. 
But the waste is the price which Protestantism pays for its 
spiritual and intellectual life, and the best its leaders can 
do is to minimize it by cultivating a spirit of charity and 
sympathy among the denominations". 

"While this is true, it is also true that these differing sects 
should so far forget their religious and theological differ- 
ences as to work unitedly and harmoniously to abolish 
these great evils which so afflict society and they should 
also labor unitedly to secure good laws, for we also agree 
with Mr. Farrar and apply his remarks to our own country, 
when he says : "The Nation will not have given a rudi- 
mentary proof that it intends to grapple in earnest with 
existing evils until it has forced its legislature to shilly- 
shally no longer in dealing with the awful ruin caused by 
drink". 

When, the entire church shall unitedly take up these 
questions they will be solved and solved aright ; and, not 
until then, are we likely to secure the results so much 
prayed for by those most thoughtful and most patriotic. 
May Providence inspire oar own church to arise to this 
high sense of duty to go forth to battle nobly for the cause 
of suffering humanity, whatever may have been the 
influences leading to their unfortunate condition. " Blessed 
is he that considerth the poor." 



CHAPTER VIII. 



The Relation of the Church and the Pulpit to the 

Drink Traffic, the Sunday Question, and 

The Wine Question. 

It is to the Christian Church and Pulpit I appeal. I ask 
them to remember that we are living in the last quarter of 
the nineteenth century of the Christian era. I ask them 
to remember that during the third quarter of the present 
century we put away one great evil that threatened the life 
of our Nation. But why was our nation so dreadfully 
punished? Why did it cost so much of blood and treasure 
to free our country from the slave oligarchy ? Was it not 
because of our National sins ? Did not both the North 
and the South sell themselves, politically, to this iniquity ? 
And are we not doing the same thing to-day with the drink 
traffic ? Selling the privilege to make drunkards ? Our 
sins, State and National, must receive the retribution they 
deserve. There is no escape. Hence a great National 
sacrifice was necessary in putting away our National sin. 
It is at length done. We are, so far as African slavery 
is concerned, a Nation of free people. But another 
National sin threatens our free institutions and bids fair 
to engulf us. Are we ready to put it away while it is 
possible to do so? Or shall we wait, as before, till 
the enemy has bound us hand and foot ? Every year 
that we delay the overthrow of the drink traffic will 
add immensely to the difficulty of its accomplishment ; 



THE DRINK TRAFFIC. 93 

and, if long delayed there is danger that it never will be 
accomplished. We deny that we are an alarmist. We do 
but speak the words of truth and soberness. 

Cato, a stern, and inflexible, old Roman Senator, who 
was deputed to examine minutely every part of the city of 
Carthage, an opulent and powerful rival of Rome, was so 
astonished at the sight of her great wealth and military 
power, that whenever he made a speech in the Senate he 
always concluded with these words : " Carthage must be 
destroyed!" 

To-day, dear reader, an enemy more powerful, more in- 
sidious and more dangerous to human society than Car- 
thage was to Rome — I say to-day a more implacable foe 
is, now, actually besieging, and trampling under foot the 
sacred rights of men and women, and endangering the free 
institutions of America. And were any patriotic Christian 
statesman to examine minutely the habitations of this most 
subtle enemy to human good and see the vast power he 
wields to spread over our loved country a pall of misery 
which is as the blackness of darkness, he too, must be 
appalled, and must conclude that nothing but the total 
destruction of this satanic power will insure the safety and 
perpetuity of human freedom, and all that is most vital to 
the welfare of humanity 1 

What, then, in view of these facts, ought to be the posi-' 
tion of the church and pulpit on the liquor question ? In 
fact what ought to be the position of all who love their 
country ? Can a patriot be indifferent in regard to such a 
danger ? Can a church be silent when 60,000 of our 
Nation's people are going down to a drunkard's grave every 
year? But the fact of the murder of so many people, 
through the permission given by our voting population, is 
but a trifling matter compared to the want and misery 
which this fell destroyer brings to these 60,000 homes ! 
How any philanthropist, any lover of his race, any true 



94 RELATION OF THE CHURCH 

patriot, can stand aloof from this question is beyond our 
comprehension. All Christians cannot be other than 
deeply concerned about this question. While it is not the 
only question, yet it is the most momentous question of 
the age. It is the question of the hour ; the one that 
towers pre-eminently above #// others. Even the scourge of 
the merciless yellow fever which so afflicted the South, and 
which called forth the sympathies of all Christendom and 
melted all hearts to pity and caused the people to pour out 
their treasure like water, and led them to sacrifice life, 
even, to mitigate the evils of that dread calamity — I say 
that devastating agent pales into insignificance before this 
monster — intemperance — whose colossal tread crushes 
hearts, and homes, and affections ; destroying virtue and 
honor, the nobility of manhood ; and all that is truly good 
and praiseworthy ; whilst it sweeps over the land like the 
dreaded simoom, blighting with its poisonous breath all 
that is bright and beautiful, leaving in its trail all the hor- 
rors to which human flesh is heir to — theft, robbery, mur- 
der, rapine ; poverty, squalor, wretchedness, misery, 
degredation, self-murder ; heartaches, bleeding hearts and 
ruined hopes. No more solemn question can be conceived 
and yet — and yet — Christian people, are we not asleep over 
this great evil which ought to terrify us into ijnmediate and 
united action ? 

I thank heaven that the people are becoming awakened 
to this impending danger. I am thankful that the Univer- 
salist Church has a good record on this, and that other 
great question which has been forever settled in this coun- 
try — that of African slavery. But no church is fully awake 
to our present peril. This question must be settled soon, in 
the interest of temperance and of moral and religious 
^reform, or it will engulf us. If this question be not prac- 
tically settled, and settled right within the next decade or 
so, it is most likely that it will have us handi-capped for all 



TO THE DRINK TRAFFIC. 95 

time to come. Do you think this a rash statement? What 
are the facts ? The facts show that at the present rate of 
degredation from the rum demon it is only a question of 
time when it will be impossible to extricate ourselves from 
the coils of this monster. In the iwenty-Hx years, last 
past, the consumption of alcoholic beverages has been 
doubled .' 'Then it was little more than six gallons a year to 
eaeh inhabitant (man, woman and child) ; now it is more 
than twelve gallons ! This fact having been stated by the 
writer in a letter to the Chicago Universalis t, the editor, 
"Rev. Dr. Cantwell, questioned the accuracy of the state- 
ment ; but on its being verified by undeniable statistics he 
was led to exclaim : " The record is appalling ! If this 
progress in the evil direction is continued for another gen- 
eration America will be as sodden with drink as Great 
Britain or Germany." Dr. Cantwell continues at length in 
an editorial, under the caption, 

'-'The Liquor Question." 

" An urgent question confronts the people of the United 
States. From Maine to Texas, from Oregon to Georgia, 
there is agitation as never before on the question of the 
liquor traffic. Decisions have been given for or against 
license, local option or State prohibition, and still the agi- 
tation goes on. There was a time when the question of 
selling liquor, like the question of drinking, was regarded 
as merely personal and moral. But it is so no longer. It 
is recognized now as social, and even political. The liquor 
traffic is an unfailing theme of popular discussion, and a 
constant subject of State legislation. 

" The change has been brought about by causes of var- 
ious kinds. It is not due merely to temperance lectures, 
nor to temperance unions. It is due also to the action of 
brewers and liquor manufacturers and dealers. It is due 
above all to the action and movement of the people them- 






g6 RELATION OF THE CHURCH 

selves, to the influx of foreign people and habits, to the 
modification and relaxation of American social usages. 
The mass of the people have been moving steadily forward 
in their use of alcoholic beverages, especially malt liquors. 
The tendency has been felt and resisted by those who 
condemn the use of such beverages as injurious both to the 
individual and the community. Between these opposing 
forces there have been action and re-action and counter- 
action. Yet the current has been steady in one direction. 
All have been acting according to their respective inclina- 
tions, and the result is universal ferment. The people are 
now aroused to the importance of the issue presented by 
their own habits. 

" The national Government, recognizing the importance 
of. the liquor problem, has used the means at its command 
to lay before the people the actual state of the case, as far as 
figures can do so. From the census reports and the annual 
treasury reports it has gathered a mass of valuable statis- 
tics. We present here a part of the results. In i860 the 
total population of the country was 31,443,321 ; the beer, 
wine and distilled liquors consumed amounted to 202,374,- 
461 gallons, but from this should be deducted 8,996,865 
gallons of alcohol estimated to be used in the mechanic 
arts. The remainder, 193,377,596 gallons were consumed 
as beverage, thus giving a little over six gallons to each 
man, woman and child in the country. In 1870 the popula- 
tion had risen to 38,558,371, and the total consumption of 
liquors to 296,876,931 gallons. Deducting, as before, we 
find the net consumption of alcoholic beverages to be 
288,887,361 gallons, or nearly seven and one-half gallons per 
capita. In 1880 the population had increased to 50,155,- 
783, while the total consumption of liquors was 506,076,- 
400 gallons, making 499,723,731 gallons the amount used 
as beverage. This gives over 9.9 gallons per capita. 

"For the year 1887 the Treasury Department reports a 



TO THE DRINK TRAFFIC. 97 

grand total of 822,138,628 gallons of liquor imported and 
manufactured. Of this amount 815,031,895 gallons were 
intended to be used as a beverage. If we estimate the pop- 
ulation of the country to have increased in the same ratio 
as during the last decade, it should now amount to 61,301,- 
513. This would give ij.j gallons as the average consump- 
tion of alcoholic beverages throughout the United States ! 
We are inclined, however, to think that the population has 
increased even more rapidly since 1880 than before that 
date. The average consumption might thus be diminished 
to 13 gallons. It would then be over 31 per cent, more 
than in 1880, about 73 per cent, more than in 1870, and 
more than twice as much as in i860. This increase has 
been almost entirely in the consumption of malt liquors. 
The figures here presented are vouched for by the Govern- 
ment. They certainly prove that in the last quarter of a 
century, the consumption of alcoholic beverages has more 
than doubled among the American people." 

With these facts before us can the church afford to be 
silent when her own life and the welfare of humanity are 
thus imperiled ? Must not the pulpit sound the alarm as a 
faithful watchman upon the walls of our Zion ? Yea, yea, the 
church must use every available agency which truth and 
honor and righteousness and Christian patriotism may 
suggest. All moral and religious influences, all educa- 
tional aids, all social measures which give reasonable 
promise of success in overthrowing this curse, should be 
fostered by the church. But the church must not stop 
here, unless she courts defeat. The law must be brought 
into requisition. Law is of divine appointment. Good 
laws are a terror to evil doers. Good laws must be made 
and enforced. We need an environment favorable to tem- 
perance. But it is not the province of the private citizen 
to do police duty. Officials who are elected to execute the 
laws should be required to enforce them or resign. But 



98 RELATION OF THE CHURCH 

under the present regime how can this be done ? The 
official usually has an eye single to his re-election and will 
not enforce the laws, unless by so doing it enhances his 
prospects for a return to official position. Then what kind 
of laws shall wfc have ? The church has a right to deal with 
all methods which her individual members may use to 
promote the public welfare. The church, while she should 
•exercise prudence, cannot afford to be timid, and vascillat- 
ing ; but must recognize the existence of the evil; and 
must arouse her adherents to action. The pulpit should 
-endeavor to quicken the public conscience. The drink 
traffic stands squarely across the path of progress. The 
church is hindered, and checkmated, on every hand, 
by this monster evil ; and she has a right, and a duty 
to discharge in abating the nuisance. But the church 
cannot afford to stultify herself by encouraging a resort to 
unholy measures, such as licensing, or legalizing this great 
wrong. To license it, is equivalent to selling indulgences ; 
besides, neither low license nor high license can be success- 
ful as a temperance measure. License and regulation 
have been tested for centuries and always found wanting. 
License legislation, or its equivalent, taxation, will demor- 
alize public sentiment and debauch the public conscience 
in proportion as it is successful as a revenue measure. In 
an address before the recent General Conference of the M. 
E. Church, in New York City, the Board of Bishops said : 
" The liquor traffic is so pernicious in its bearings, so 
*' inimical to the interests of honest trade, so repugnant to 
" the moral sense, so injurious to the peace and order of 
" society, so hurtful to the homes, to the church and to the 
" body politic, and so utterly antagonistic to all that is pre- 
" cious in life, that the only proper attitude toward it, for 
" Christians, is that of relentless hostility. // can never be 
" legalized without sin. No temporary device for regulating 



TO THE DRINK TRAFFIC. 99 

u it can become a substitute for Prohibition. Lice?ise, high or 
"low, is vicious in principle, and powerless as a remedy". 

Personally we desire to utilize all measures for temper- 
ance reform which conscientious people can approve \ but 
we are fully persuaded that Prohibition is the only remedy 
that can give enduring results. Prohibition by both State 
and Nation, extending to the prohibition of the importa- 
tion of liquors, is the only means adequate to deal with a 
monster of such gigantic proportions as the rum trade ; 
and unless this is secured in the near future there is great 
danger that our fate is sealed. 

License, taxation, and regulation, only serve to entrench 
the business by keeping it under cover of the law and 
making it " respectable ". Make it respectable ? Indeed ! 
Yes, that is what they call it. But the gilded saloon is more 
damnable in its influence than the low dives. " Respect- 
able " men and boys frequent the former, and get their 
start downward, who, otherwise, would never enter the lat- 
ter. This is just what the dram-seller wants, to have his 
business "respectable ". 

But we are asked can we get prohibition? And if we 
get it will it prohibit ? To all of which we answer : We 
have no doubt of the latter proposition. That prohibition 
will prohibit has been demonstrated already, even before it 
has secured a Prohibition party in power to enforce it. 
The splendid results in Maine, Iowa, Kansas, and other 
states, even now, without a party in power pledged to the 
execution of prohibition laws, is a prophecy of far grander 
results ivhen such laws have officials behind them whose con- 
stituents will demand the enforcement of these laws. Pro- 
hibition has never yet had a fair trial. But it has had such 
a trial as assures its complete triumph under any fair test. 
The only question is, can we get it ? We know the dim 
-culties in the way. We know how strong are party ties ; 
and how bitter politicians are toward moral questions in 



IOO RELATION OF THE CHURCH 

politics. But the question of the drink traffic is already in 
politics, and never can be taken out until settled and set- 
tled right. There are plenty of good people in this coun- 
try to settle this question right whenever these good people 
can all be united in an organized body pledged to the over- 
throw of the drink-traffic. Success waits alone on this. 

So long as our forces are in different parties, with no 
united purpose, and unorganized, we are unable to cope 
with this formidable adversary. We care not what party 
name our forces march under to victory. Bat it must be 
some party whose ranks can command all the votes of all 
the temperance people of all parties, and must be pledged 
to the overthrow of this power. The public conscience 
must be aroused. The pulpit should endeavor to develop 
a robust conscience among the people and move them to- 
rise superior to party ties. 

The agitation which the anti-slavery movement produced,, 
resulted in uniting about three-fourths of the Whig party,. 
and one-fourth of the Democrats under the name Republi- 
can, which new party was hostile to the extension of 
slavery. And some such movement to unite all tie tem- 
perance elements of all parties, hostile to the saloon, is 
what is needed to-day to confront this greatest foe of 
man. 

We only ask that all temperance people unit* in one 
party with the expressed purpose of dealing with this gigan- 
tic evil, and then, and then only can success crown their 
efforts. And why not do this ? Is it patriotic to love 
party above country ? Shame ! Let us make a second 
declaration of independence and show that no party owns 
us. Let us have the courage of our own convictions and 
vote as we pray. With officials backed by a voting consti- 
tuency pledged to all laws looking to the abolishion of the 
rum traffic, we would soon put to silence the cry that 
" Prohibition does not prohibit ". The church is set for 



TO THE DRINK TRAFFIC. IOI 

reform and the pulpit should enjoy a large measure of free- 
dom in expressing its convictions. The pulpit is supposed 
to understand the work of the church far better than the 
average layman : and is supposed to be free to preach the 
word of God as he understands it. We believe prohibition 
to be the crowning of all other temperance laws and the 
only one that can give us any permanent success. We 
deny to none the right to work in all other ways which 
seem to them best ; but we put the question, Are you a 
worker in this cause ? If you are not, do not stand aloof 
and find fault with those who are manfully fighting these 
battles. If you have " a more excellent way," go to work 
and show to the world that you have. But until you do 
this you should accord to the veterans in the work a judg- 
ment superior to your own. No church, no pulpit, no 
good citizen, can afford to stand still in a cause like this. 
This fight for our liberties is upon us ; and neither pulpit, 
nor pew, can, with impunity, shirk the responsibility which 
the hour lays upon us ; and we trust the Universalist 
church will show a noble record by leading her forces in 
the thickest of the fight. Think of the desolation which 
follows in the very wake of the churches on account of 
rum ! We boast of sending missionaries to the heathen 
and yet do we not more than counteract all the good done 
in that direction ? Prof. Stewart, of Liberia, says : 

"It is estimated that 70,000 gallons of liquor are sent to 
Africa with each missionary"! In our cities of Chicago, 
Cincinnati, New York, Boston and elsewhere whole districts 
are so steeped in drink that they do not come under the 
influence of the church. In Cincinnati there are less 
than 300,000 people and 3,434 saloons, or an average of 
one saloon to less than 100 inhabitants, and one saloon to 
every 20 voters ! In Chicago, in certain wards, where they 
have high license, ($500), there is said to be one saloon to 
every 14 voters ! How long will the politicians be able 



102 RELATION OF THE CHURCH 

thus to hoodwink the people ? Said Beecher : " One 
grog shop to every 20 voters is enough to appall the stout- 
est heart ; and to put the ballot into the hands of a drunk- 
en man is like turning a bull into an orphan asylum to 
teach the orphans". Rum rules the cities and the cities- 
rule the Nation. 

Bishop Mallalieu, in Ziorfs Herald, in speaking on this 
question says : 

"The great secret of success in all moral reforms is the 
co-operation of all bodies having a common interest and a 
common purpose. It would be a reproach on any Chris- 
tian Church in all this broad land to assume that it is. 
careless in regard to issues involved in the temperance 
cause. Every Christian Church has already taken a stand 
more or less pronounced in opposition to the traffic in, and 
beverage use of, intoxicating drinks. Why may it not be 
brought about that all these churches should combine for 
the suppression of the sale and use of these destructive 
beverages ? When this is done, then will dawn the day of 
hope so much desired by all thoughtful, philanthropic 
souls. It would seem as if this would be the most natural 
and easiest thing to accomplish, but all the past proves, 
that it is exceedingly difficult to command the efficient and 
hearty combination of independent forces. It must take 
time and continued and earnest effort. The chief watch- 
men must see eye to eye. All others must learn the 
great truth that in union there is strength, and that when 
the course of duty- is clearly pointed out, all must join 
hand to hand and heart to heart for the rescue of the race 
from the curse of drink." 

And The Catholic Examiner says : 

" There are few things in the history of our country that 
are more remarkable than the increase in our consumption 
of liquor during the past forty years. The figures indicat- 
ing this increase are, to say the least, alarming. They 



TO THE SABBATH QUESTION. IOJ. 

show that if we are not already a nation of drunkards, we 
are in a fair way to become such, and they are calculated 
to induce thoughtful men to look with more or less compla- 
cency on the prohibition movement, or on any other agita- 
tion in behalf of temperance." 

The Sabbath Question. 

Intimately related to this question of the drink traffic is 
that of the maintenance of our Christian Sabbath. A 
movement is already on foot in some states, largely sup- 
ported by the liquor interests, looking to the more complete 
overthrow of a law-abiding Sabbath, and in favor of what 
is called "personal liberty". This " personal liberty" 
movement means liberty to desecrate the Sabbath by open 
saloons and beer gardens ; it means freedom to get drunk 
as often as one pleases ; it means liberty to make drunkards 
of our boys and obstruct the legitimate work of the Sab- 
bath day; it means the general- demoralization of com- 
munity. On this question also the church must be heard. 
We do not ask for a puritan Sabbath ; but what we do ask, 
is, that the Sabbath shall not be, as it now is, in our cities, 
the worst day of the seven ! We ask that it be -kept orderly, 
and that all who desire shall be protected in using the day 
for moral and religious advancement. " Remember the 
Sabbath day to keep it holy ". Let there be no unneces- 
sary work done on that day. Let all business, especially 
all sale of intoxicants, and all places of doubtful resort, all 
Sunday theaters, and dance houses, be rigidly tabooed, to 
the end that the church may wield the best possible influ- 
ence upon society, and that no open and inviting avenues 
to wrong be allowed. On this question let the church 
stand for a reasonable Sabbath, such as the Savior would 
commend were he in our midst. 

The Wine Question. 

Shall we use fermented wine in the observance of the 
Lord's Supper? In view of the fact that many drinking 



104 RELATION OF THE CHURCH 

men, who have reformed and become good church mem- 
bers, have had their old appetites aroused, causing them to 
return to their " cups ", this question must concern all who 
are interested in the work of the church. Many suppose 
that Jesus made intoxicating wine at the marriage feast at 
Cana of Galilee. John iv.46 says : "Then when He was 
come again into Cana of Galilee, where He made the 
water wine ". Now we do not believe that fermented or 
alcoholic wine was made on the above noted occasion. 
There are many reasons for thinking so, though we have 
not the space to speak at length. We do not believe that 
Christ would have been consistent to have done so. We 
do not believe that He was such a minister unto death as 
this implies. He used pure water to make this wine, and 
it was spoken of as " good " wine. We have no reason to 
believe that fermentation had taken place. And more than 
this, there is abundant evidence to show that alcoholic wine 
was strictly prohibited in all the holy ordinances of the 
Jews. The people in Christ's time knew how to preserve 
the juice of the grape from fermenting, which is clearly 
proved from the following testimony from Dr. John Ellis, 
who has spent much time in the study of this question. 
He says : 

"That during the various periods when the Sacred Scrip- 
tures were written the ancients prepared and used two 
kinds of wine — the one fermented and the other unfer- 
mented — which both were called wine, in the Hebrew yay- 
in, in the Greek oinos, and in Latin vinum, is beyond ques- 
tion, for we have the testimony of Plato, Columella, Pliny, 
Aristotle, Virgil, Horace and Plutarch that unfermented 
and unintoxicating wines were prepared and used. And 
the processes by which such wines were prepared and pre- 
served, as described by some of the above writers, are the 
very processes used successfully at this day. 

"We also know that the same kinds of unfermented 



TO THE WINE QUESTION. 105 

wines, prepared precisely as the ancients prepared theirs, 
but sometimes called by other names, have been used from 
their time until the present, and are even now somewhat 
extensively manufactured and used. Many religious 
societies are using these wines for sacramental purposes. 
Such are the historical facts running parallel with divine 
revelation, which cannot be ignored in a fair and intelli- 
gent consideration of this subject." 

Rev. J. S. Palmer, one of the watchmen on the walls of 
our Zion, says of fermented wine : 

'•In these enlightened days we have no excuse for using 
this vile compound at the communion table. I look upon 
it as a gross departure from duty — a dangerous evil. Sup- 
pose a reformed man sits with me at the communion table. 
We use fermented or alcoholic wine. He tastes of the 
pernicious cup, — the cup* from which he has pledged him- 
self totally to abstain. His old evil appetite is revived, 
and he again falls a prey to his old base habits. Why, my 
friends, we better have no communion service than to act 
so inconsistently in such a sacred rite. 

" In this place I will introduce another extract from Dr. 
John Ellis, showing how the best communion wine can be 
obtained and preserved. I quote, as I have already done, 
from The National Temperance Advocate : 

" There is one point to which the writer desires to call 
the attention of all, especially of those who are seeking for 
an unfermented wine for communion purposes. The blood 
of the grape, or the juice of the grape, which flows readily 
when the skin is punctured or ruptured, and the sweetest 
and most palatable portion of the juice, which flows on 
moderate pressure, are light colored, and not dark, in some 
varities approaching the color of water. Only in a very 
few varieties is it dark. It is very desirable that we have a 
sweet, pleasant wine as a communion wine, and such a 
wine can only be obtained from the grapes usually grown 



106 THE WINE QUESTION. 

in the latitude of New York and New Jersey, by a moder- 
ate pressure ; so that we should not look for a dark-colored 
wine. The Catawba and Concord grapes, when fully ripe,, 
yield, when only moderate pressure is applied, a wine 
pleasant to the smell and taste." 

Many of our churches, in preference to using fermented 
wines in celebrating this ordinance, use pure water which 
we regard as far preferable to fermented wine. Alcohol is 
the product of death and decay and is fruitful in more 
deaths in the world, as Mr. Gladstone has asserted, than 
"the combined calamities of war, pestilence, and famine" . 

Mr. Palmer further says : 

" When all the different branches of the Christian church 
are fully awake to their duty on this subject, state and 
national prohibition will be the blessed fruit of this revival. 
All that is necessary to obtain this* grand result is to aivaken 
all who profess Christianity into determined activity, a?id the 
restriction on the manufacture and sale of all intoxicating 
drinks will soon be accomplished. Let us all pray for this 
good time coming, when the great sin of intemperance in 
alcohol and tobacco, and every other vicious habit, shall 
be under the feet of the Christian world ; when the blessed 
Master shall reign in all hearts, and God shall be all in all ; 
and let us emphasize our prayers by being consistent, active 
workers in the great fields of philanthropy and duty, and 
we shall see and know that our prayers are answered." 



CHAPTER IX. 



Relation of Our Colleges to Our Church. 

Xo church can succeed to-day without an educated 
ministry. The Universalist Church has been, for many 
years, rising more and more to a conscious knowledge of 
this fact. Our ministry must be well equipped and thor- 
oughly furnished for the exacting duties which the minister- 
ial profession of to-day requires. Breadth and depth of 
knowledge, not only of theology an4 religion, but of the 
natural and mental sciences must be commanded to fit 
the man of God for his most important life work. And 
our church has done well to found colleges and theological 
schools. We ought also to do more for them. We ought 
to endow them more richly than we have done ; more 
especially our divinity schools. But we think we may well 
ask : What more can our colleges do for our church ? 

Denominational colleges are, as we understand them, 
Christian colleges ; and Christian colleges must be 
expected to foster Christianity in all consistent ways. But 
do such colleges do all that might reasonably be expected 
of them in this direction ? Or do they largely ignore 
Christianity by omitting the study of the Bible from their 
curricula ? Should not all Christian colleges recognize the 
worth of the Bible by making its study a prominent feature 
in the college course ? One of our denominational papers 
recently said : 

"Touching Bible study in colleges a New York cotem- 



108 RELATION OF OUR COLLEGES 

porary has this paragraph in which is tendered counsel to 
parents of a kind that many may do well to ponder : 'Dr. 
Wm. R. Harper, professor of Hebrew in Yale University, has 
recently put forth the results of careful examination. His 
conclusion is that but few at best of our institutions recog- 
nize Bible study as desirable. At least there are few insti- 
tutions in which the Bible is studied at all. Of course 
there is the Sunday Bible class accessible to students. 
But that is only a Sunday-school with an hour a week — 
eight and a half minutes a day, devoted to the study of the 
Scriptures. The result of such "study" must be small 
indeed. Now as the Bible is going out of the schools, it 
would seem as if it should go into the colleges. And above 
■all, should it go ifito the colleges endowed by Christian 
beneficence a?id having Christian clergymen at their head. 
A great deal of time is given to the ethics of Socrates, 
Seneca, Cicero ; it might be well if some time were 
devoted to instruction in the religion of Christ. It is very 
important that this neglected field be cultivated ; and it 
will be worth the parent's while to see how much and how 
little of Christianity is taught and emphasized in college 
before sending his boy out of his sight during iour years 
of the most critical in his life." 

Now it is not our purpose to advocate sectarian instruc- 
tion for those not of our faith, nor the thrusting of our 
views upon unwilling minds. But to the Christian the 
Bille is a marvelously instructive book; and why should 
it not have a fair chance along with Shakespeare, and Mil- 
ton, and Darwin, and other great works ? We believe the 
Bible should have a place in the course of study of every 
Christian college. Its history, geography, archaeology, its 
literature, and its precepts, are certainly of more impor- 
tance to the student than many other works which occupy 
great prominence in our colleges. And would not such a 
recognition lead our students to revere its teachings ; and 



TO OUR CHURCH. IO9 

would it not bring the profession of the ministry before 
them in a higher and more attractive light. than under the 
present regime ? Why do we have denominational 
colleges? 

We hear much said, and rightly too, tabout the duty of 
being loyal to our colleges. Universalists ought to be loyal 
to their colleges by supplying them with students and by 
generous gifts of funds to equip them. Our people should 
always prefer their own colleges to all others, for many 
reasons. We ought to be loyal to all the institutions of 
our church. But is there not two sides to this question of 
loyalty to our colleges ? Are our colleges as loyal to the 
interests of our church as they should be? If they are, 
they must wield a great influence in behalf of our church. 
If they are, they are serving as feeders to our divinity 
schools ; and will bless our church with many educated 
laymen, in return for the fostering care and patronage of 
the church which created and largely sustains the colleges. 
Are our colleges doing this ? Are they wielding a healthy 
denominational influence, commensurate with their cost ? 

And the hundreds of our best young men and women, 
who tread the halls of these colleges, are they returning to 
their homes with a clearer knowledge of our faith 'and with 
a firmer conviction of the truths of Christianity, than 
when they entered there ? To what extent is church-going 
required of the students ? Are the Universalist youth 
receiving a reasonable care, denominationally ? Do not 
mistake these interrogations. We have no feelings of sec- 
tarian exclusiveness ; but we accord to all the right of 
private judgment in matters of faith ; and would oppose, 
vigorously, any attempt to proselyte those students coming 
from homes of other faiths. But there can be no objec- 
tion to a proper denominational care for the youth coming 
fro?n Universalist homes. And ought not all students of a 



110 RELATION OF OUR COLLEGES 

Christian college be required to attend the church of their 
choice at least once each Sabbath ? 

What ought to be the return which a church college should 
render to the. church which made it possible for the college 
to exist, and whose adherents continue to foster it by large 
benefactions and a liberal patronage ? Surely there is 
some large contribution which our denominational schools 
should make for the advancement of our church. Is there 
not some means of realizing this contribution more fully 
than heretofore ? Should not our youth who spend one or 
more years in one of our colleges be expected to so utilize his 
■church privileges as to secure a fair knowledge of our doc- 
trines and the obligations growing out of the same ? Or 
is mental and physical training sufficient? Is not the 
education of the intellect alone a one-sided and imperfect 
work that must prove disastrous to an alarming extent? 
"We recur with approval to the words of Dr. Pullman, who 
says: "Conscienceless intellectual power is only splendid 
deformity ; and the men of this class constitute our really 
' dangerous classes '. " 

The Christian church is set for the upbuilding and 
defense of the Christian religion and a church college, it 
would seem, should support in some large measure the 
same great truths. By all means let our people be loyal to 
their colleges ; but let our colleges, also, be loyal to otw 
church, and to the best interest of vur youth, morally and 
spiritually, as well as intellectually, Universalists who love 
their church, and the truth it stands for, must desire to 
-send their children to that college which most faithfully 
fosters the moral and religious well-being of their children ; 
because the Master says : "Seek ye first the kingdom of 
God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be 
added unto you ". What we ask, is, that the Bible and the 
doctrines of the Bible, as Universalists understand them, 
shall have a rightful place, and a fair chance, in moulding 



TO OUR CHURCH. Ill 

the lives and characters of our youth, when entrusted to 
the care of our colleges ; and that these colleges, should of 
right, do this in return for the benefactions and patronage 
of the people of our church. Less than this, we feel can- 
not be done if our colleges are to be true to our church 
and subserve the great purpose for which they were 
created. 



CHAPTER X. 



Conditions of Success for the Universalist Church. 

Rev. E. C. Sweetser, D. D., in his occasional sermon 
before the General Convention of Universalists at Peoria, 
treated the above theme with so much ability that we feel 
we can do our church no better service than to reproduce 
its salient points. We take the liberty of italicizing some 
portions deserving special prominence. Dr. Sweetser says : 

"Whether theology is a progressive science is a question 
which has lately received much discussion. There are 
some who are loath to admit that it is. But the fact is in- 
disputable that whatever may be true of the substance 
matter of revelation, men's apprehension of it changes, 
their understanding of it enlarges, and it discloses new 
relations to them as the ages move on. As has been well 
remarked by one of England's ablest scholars,* " Fresh 
discoveries through scientific research and observation, 
fresh conditions of political, social and industrial life, fresh 
phases of thought in the course of debate and of exper- 
ience within the church itself, are inevitable. For all this 
Christianity must be prepared. She ever stands, as it were, 
on the verge of a new country which is to be bravely, yet 
wisely and warily, occupied. It is with her as with the 
army of the Israelites when encamped in the plain on the 
eastern side of Jordan, and when their leader said to them, 
'This day ye shall eat new food: bring forth the old 
because of the new.'" This is as true of each branch of 



•Dean Howson. 



CONDITIONS OF SUCCESS II3 

the Christian church as of Christianity itself, and as true 
of the Universalist branch as of others. If our church is 
to prosper, it must be steadily progressive, accepting gladly 
all new discoveries in the realm of scientific truth, all 
fresh conclusions in the realm of philosophy which are 
founded on substantial reasons, and all genuine results of 
truly scholarly criticism in the realm of Biblical learning 
and hermeneutics. And, moreover, it must not only accept 
these things when discovered and made known by others, 
but it must earnestly endeavor to contribute to their dis- 
covery, showing the same spirit in regard to them which 
its founders showed in regard to the questions which were 
pressing for solution in their time. 

" The founders of the Universalist Church were 
thoroughly progressive men. They did not wait for the 
church as a whole to discover the truth of universal salva- 
tion before they accepted it and avowed their belief in it, 
but independently and boldly they advanced the glorious 
proposition and successfully defended it till a multitude of 
believers had gathered around them and they themselves 
were taken home. Our church, if it is to prosper as it 
ought to, must never let that spirit die, but like the Spar- 
tans, who in battle threw their spears before them and then 
fought their way up to them, it must commit itself to the 
cause of progress and must constantly strive to make 
advancement all along the line of conflict between what is 
true and what is not true. 

"Of course, I do not mean to say that as a church we 
ought to engage directly in scientific pursuits or in philoso- 
phical studies, except as they have a religious bearing; nor 
do I mean that while seeking for and welcoming new 
truths, we should discard or ignore or speak contemptu- 
ously of the old truths. Nothing could be more foolish 
than that would be ; nothing could be more suicidal. But 
I mean that while we firmly hold to whatsoever ancient 



1 14 CONDITIONS OF SUCCESS 

doctrines are manifestly true and needful, we should be 
ready at all times to revise our opinions and change our 
beliefs if they are proved to be not true, and should not 
only encourage all honest investigations in regard to their 
truthfulness, but should ourselves make such investigation 
when occasion demands it, and be constantly seeking to 
learn more and more of the real relation of things, remem- 
bering that, as pastor Robinson said to the Pilgrims, ' The 
Lord has more truth yet to break forth out of His Holy 
Word,' and that none of the fathers, great and shining 
lights though they were, had penetrated into the whole 
counsel of God. In short, I mean to say that if our 
church is to succeed, it must ally itself not only to certain 
great truths, but to truth itself, unreservedly and unfalter- 
ingly, whatsoever its demands may be ; for all truth is 
God's truth, and we cannot in any wise oppose it without 
to that extent opposing him. 

" Need I say, in this presence, that among the old truths 
which our church can by no means afford to lose faith in, 
or to slacken its hold upon, is the central truth of the 
gospel that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, the express 
image of Hh person, and the Saviour of mankind? I 
trust not, but it will do no harm to emphasize the important 
fact — the vitally important fact — that whatsoever progress 
our church may make must be made in the direct line of 
historical Christianity. Its thought must be Christian 
thought, its doctrines must be Christian doctrines, and its 
■success must be built on an unwavering adherence to the 
Divine character and mission of Jesus of Nazareth : ' For 
other foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which 
is Jesus Christ.' We may build on that foundation as high 
and as wide and as elaborately as we choose, for it is broad 
enough and strong enough to sustain any structure which 
the materials of truth can be possibly shaped into. On 
that foundation we may remodel what has been built 



FOR THE UNIVERSALIST CHURCH. 115 

already, and add new rooms with the latest improvements 
which the advancing intelligence of mankind can provide. 
But if we depart from that foundation, we build on the 
sand, and our building, however ingeniously constructed, 
will eventually be shaken and fall to the ground. 

"We cannot safely trust in any merely human system of 
philosophy and ethics, nor in the Christian system with 
Christ left out. The church which departs from Christ 
must die ; for He alone has the words of eternal life. We 
must take our stand on the side of progressive Christianity ; 
we must rely upon our alliance with that spirit of truth, 
concerning which Christ's promise is that it shall guide his 
disciples into all truth, otherwise we cannot reasonably 
hope for success. 

"But that alone is not enough. No church can succeed 
which trusts simply to the purity and progressiveness of 
its doctrines, the abstract truth which it possesses, the cor- 
rectness of its sympathies, the righteousness of its cause \ 
it must add to its faith, and its knowledge, and its sympa- 
thies certain other requirements of a more practical kind. 

Further on he says : 

ii We must take hold of that work in a spirit of ear- 
nestness, adding to our faith and knowledge a burning zeal 
for the propagation of those truths ivhich the Lord has 
made known to us, and for the establishment of If is king- 
dom in the hearts of ?nankind. No church can succeed — 
no matter what its faith may be — whose members are listless 
and lukewarm in their attachment to it, or in their devo- 
tion to the cause it stands for. Though their faith be 
sufficient to move a mountain, it will not move a mole-hiLl 
unless it be energized with a feeling of enthusiasm 
-and self-consecration. And that is the principal reason 
why we have so many dormant parishes, and so many dead 
ones in different parts of the country. It is because their 
members have lacked earnestness, ardor and vehemence. 



Il6 CONDITIONS OF SUCCESS 

If,' together with their faith, they had had proper enthusiasm,, 
they would not so easily have succumbed to the adverse- 
influences to which they are in the habit of attributing 
their failure. It is because they were lukewarm that the 
Lord spewed them out of His mouth ; and lest we, too,, 
should meet their fate, we need to be on our guard 
continually, and not only to keep our zeal from waning, 
but to increase it as much as we possibly can. There are 
but few of us, if any, who do not sometimes need to* 
pray:— 

"Come, Holy Spirit, heavenly dove, 

With all thy quickening powers; 
Kindle a flame of sacred love 

In these cold hearts of ours." 

"Whatever else we rely on will be in vain, unless we 
have in our hearts that sacred flame of devotion to the 
cause which we professedly stand for. 

" Then, furthermore, we must have wise methods for our 
zeal to work by, lest our power be dissipated, and we fight 
as one who beats the air. Already we have some very 
excellent methods, and have greatly improved in this 
respect in recent years. But there is still room for 
improvement ; and it is very urgently called for in certain 
directions. We have not yet that thorough organization 
and utilization of all our forces which the welfare of our 
church demands. It may be questioned, indeed, whether 
our unused powers are not equal at least to those which we 
are making use of. Think, for instance, of our vacant 
pulpits, our parishes without ministers, and our ministers- 
without parishes ; think of the capabilities of usefulness 
which the women of our church possess, of which the 
work that they have done already is only a hint and an indi- 
cation ; think of our multitudes of young people, full of 
that strength which the apostle referred to, of whom we 
are making scarcely any service ; and think of the pecuniary 
resources which our church represents, and from which* 



FOR THE UNIVERSALIST CHURCH. Iiy 

by means of our present methods, we get so small a pro- 
portion for our denominational needs. 

"No, my brethren, in regard to the best methods of 
utilizing our forces we have not already attained ; neither 
.are we already perfect. There is abundant room for 
improvement ; and in order that we may improve, we must 
be willing to learn from other churches. ' Everybody ', said 
Talleyrand, 'knows more than anybody '; and it is a truth 
which, in church matters, we may profitably give heed to. 
Assimilation is the law of growth ; and that church which 
will not take from others the approved results of long 
experience has nobody to blame but itself if it dies. John 
Bunyan, while in Bedford jail, refused to eat a piece of 
Christmas pie, because he regarded it as a popish dish v If 
he had objected to it on the ground of its indigestibility, he 
might, perhaps, have done so with good reason ; but, as it 
was, his objection was an evidence, not of superior piety, 
nor of superior wisdom, but of perverted zeal. Let us 
not be similarly foolish ; but whenever we see a good cus- 
tom or useful rule in another church, even though it be in 
a church that has no friendly feeling for us, let us consider 
whether that rule or that custom would not be as useful for 
ns as for others ; and if it would, let us adopt it without 
more delay. In regard to methods of work, we may learn 
some very useful lessons from even the Roman Catholic 
Church ; and there are others also whose experience we 
anight profitably give some thought to. 

" Prominent among the conditions of success which are 
approved by the experience of the church universal, as 
well as by the voice of reason and the testimony of the 
Scriptures, is a well organized system of missionary work. 
It is a deplorable fact that our church has been very remiss 
in this matter ; and were it not for the fact that the subject 
is now receiving so much attention among us, and that a 
beginning has been made in the proper direction , there 



Il8 CONDITIONS OF SUCCESS 

would be but little ground for hope that our church would 
continue to prosper and grow. I do not propose now to 
enlarge upon this subject, but only to emphasize the 
importance of it. 

" We must be a missionary church, or we cannot succeed f 

" No church which thinks chiefly of its own material 
prosperity — the elegance of its edifice, the eloquence of its 
preacher, the excellence of its music, the wealth of its 
members, their standing in society, and the quality of the 
clothes they wear — can be really successful. It may r 
indeed, have the reward which it seeks for, like the Phari- 
sees of olden time, but as a church it is doomed to be a 
failure. The real prosperity of a church, and the wealth 
which it should chiefly seek for, were appropriately indi- 
cated by a deacon of one of the early churches, who, when 
his bishop had been slain by the heathen authorities, and he 
was commanded to point out and surrender the treasures- 
which his church had gathered, called together all of its. 
poorest members, and proudly said to the astonished 
prefect, 'These are the treasures of the church.' // was- 
while the chitrch cherished that great love of humanity > 
that consideration for the poor and lowly, the oppressed 
and the outcast, and that comparative disregard for worldly 
wealth and worldly honors, that it achieved its most re- 
markable and glorious successes ; and our church, if it is 
to attain the success which we hope for, must cultivate the 
self-same spirit and be continually on its guard against the 
temptation to think more of 'respectability' than of the 
souls of mankind. It must not disdain to eat with publi- 
cans and sinners when it can do them any good, and must 
not only throw its doors wide open in friendly invitation to- 
the humblest and poorest and most needy of men, but 
must go forth of its own accord to seek them, in the spirit 



FOR THE UNIVERSALIST CHURCH. II9 

of Him who came not to be ministered unto, but to minis- 
ter, and to give his life a ransom for many. 

"Brethren, we have not done as much of this work as we 
should have done ; and that is one of the reasons why our 
success has not been greater. We have not done enough. 
of this best of all mission work. We have suffered other 
churches, with a faith far inferior, to excel us in preaching: 
the gospel to the poor, and in extending the hand of a 
practical helpfulness to the degraded and to them that are 
out of the way. Let us have foreign missions ; let us have 
what are commonly known as home missions ; and, above 
all, let us have that truly Christian spirit which will make 
every one of our local churches a mission station in regard 
to its own immediate neighborhood. 

" From the example of the early church, let me also draw 
another lesson. It depended very largely for its remark- 
able success upon its educational institutions. 

%. ■%. $z * %■%%.%.$: 

"We must imitate their example if we would have like 
success. That we have imitated it so extensively, is one of 
the principal causes of the measure of success which we 
have already attained to. Fortunately for our church, its 
early leaders appreciated the importance of a good educa- 
tion for its ministers and its laity. Fortunately also they 
found men and women who were wise enough and generous 
enough to contribute the money which was necessary for 
the establishment of the schools which we have. All honor 
to their noble names / They are written, as they should 
be, in a book of remembrance, and will be regarded with 
admiration by generations to come, like the illustrious 
names which were inscribed in the Golden Book of Venice 
during the days of its best government and its greatest 
renown. And to the list which was then made for our long 
and grateful preservation, there have been some recent 
additions of quite equal significance, which I need but 



120 CONDITIONS OF SUCCESS 

refer to, to call forth your praise. But the list has need of 
still further extension ; for our schools have great need of 
still further endowments, and our church has great need of 
more prosperous schools. We must not let them go back- 
ward, nor let them even stand still and suffer for want of 
funds. They are among the most important of the things 
which we must rely on, and it is incumbent upon us to 
furnish them well. 

" And this leads me to say that not only in relation to our 
denominational schools, but in relation to whatsoever our 
church has to do, we must have financial liberality, or 
we cannot achieve anything but scanty results. Money is 
just as necessary for the support of a church as for the 
support of a household, for the prosecution of religious en- 
terprises as for the management of a railroad or the proper 
regulation of a nation's affairs ; and from the very begin- 
ning of the church's history, the need of liberal giving has 
been repeatedly emphasized. Christ referred to it frequently, 
and so did the apostles, especially the Apostle Paul. ' He 
which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly, and he 
which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully ', said 
He, when treating of this very matter. 

"The amount of money which one will give in propor- 
tion to his ability for the support of any institution, or 
the advancement of any cause soever, is a pretty accurate 
measure of the interest which he takes in it ; and for that 
reason, as well as for the uses of the money itself, it is 
necessary that we should give freely, that our church may 
succeed. Among the things which we must rely on for the 
highest success is a plentiful supply of money, cheerfully 
given, for every department of the church's expenditure ; 
and our ministers must not hesitate to ask their congrega- 
tions for it just as often the need occurs." 

In reference to this same matter of giving, and under the 



FOR THE UNIVERSALIST CHURCH. 121 

caption, "A Neglected Duty", the editor of The Banner 
discourses as follows : 

" That Universalists have been remiss in the matter of 
giving money for the advancement of their cause, especially 
in the direction of missionary effort, has long been our 
belief. We have for several years expressed our conviction 
and have endeavored to show that those who have abund- 
ant riches must give large sums, and those of lesser ability 
must give as they are able, ere we as a church make the 
progress so much desired. We have not as a people come 
at all near to the measure of our ability in giving for the 
various departments of our denominational work. 

" The ciphering done in the interest of a good showing 
beside other sects, to our mind, has been very faulty. We 
get pennies where we should have dollars, a few dollars 
where we should have many dollars. Every year almost, 
wealthy Universalists die and leave no sign of interest in 
the faith they professed to cherish while living, so far as 
their bequests are concerned. We recall three or four 
instances of this kind within a year or two past, while in 
other communions scores of rich men in this time, as they 
have passed out of this world, have made known their 
purpose to aid by large sums the sects and institutions held 
in esteem. Hence those sects and institutions grow rapidly 
stronger and stronger and their influence is correspond- 
ingly extended. 

" We have ever gladly admitted, and do now assert, that 
a part of our membership, a few of our parishes, do 
liberally for their faith. Yet, in the way of indispensable 
gifts of large size, and the many possible contributions of 
small amount, we as a people are justly chargeable with 
neglect of duty. We all know that the half million dollars' 
fund for missionary uses proposed in these columns, could 
be easily raised in five years — in much less time — were 
there a general desire to accomplish that result. How that 



122 CONDITIONS OF SUCCESS. 

proposition was received, both by directing officials and by 
the mass of believers, is well known. In support of our 
view of the situation we give these paragraphs from a 
recent contribution to the Leader by Rev. Dr. Atwood : 

* Recently a Universalist whose wealth was reckoned by 
the hundred thousands passed away. We knew that he 
had money to give ; we knew that he had abundant 
information as to the needs of institutions and causes 
which he confessed were noble. We knew that he gave 
sparingly all his life long, and that he left not a dollar 
to any public interest. He was not a man of vices. He 
was honest, truthful, trustworthy. His religion never got 
the better of his narrowness and sordidness. He had the 
means to do great good ; he contented himself with doing 
so little that it was scarcely decent. Such men are not a 
blessing to the world, and they come near being a curse to 
any church that must bear the reproach of their example. 

'We have said it before, we say it again, we shall con- 
tinue to say it until it ceases to be true, that Universalist 
churches do not give so much in proportion to means and 
members as many other churches give, for the support and 
dissemination of their religion. This is not true of all our 
churches nor of all our people in any church ; but it is 
true of the average in both respects. And there are two 
strong reasons for it, whether there are any more or not. 
The first is that the habit of giving for the church, its 
ideas and its work, was not inculcated among us for a 
long time and is not yet fixed. The second is that we are 
all so reluctant to make comparisons of our own gifts with 
those of other churches that our people remain in 
ignorance of what other denominations are doing and of 
what it would be only decent for us to do. We shall never 
come up to the measure of our ability and opportunity 
until the whole truth is presented to our churches and 
people.'" 



CHAPTER XL 



The True Motive of Missionary Effort. 

What is the true motive that should impel Christians to 
labor for the salvation of the world? Our partialist 
friends claim to possess the only motive to missionary 
labors. They say that the belief that the heathen may 
have a chance after death ; or disbelief in an endless hell, 
would " cut the nerve of missions ". Now while these 
form a motive, they do not constitute the only motive, nor 
the true motive. Says Rev. J. Coleman Adams, in a dis- 
course on this theme : 

" Now while we cannot too warmly praise the honesty 
and courage which reaffirms the fundamentals of ortho- 
doxy in the face of modern doubt and indifference, we 
must heartily deplore the humiliating fact which its very 
zeal makes clear. For along with this caution against 
taking away a powerful motive for missionary endeavor 
there necessarily goes the implication that this is the only 
one which can kindle enthusiasm and command effort. By 
this reasoning, nothing but the certainty of hell as the fate 
of all the heathen, could possibly justify or induce all 
the expenditure of time, talent and treasure, now lavished 
upon the work of carrying the gospel to these people. It 
is clear that to minds trained in the school of evangelical 
thought, there appears to be no good and sufficient reason 
for maintaining missions except as a means of snatching 
what few may be reached from the horrors of an endless- 



124 THE TRUE MOTIVE 

■doom. They can conceive no other motive but this. If 
there be not an endless hell in store for all those who have 
not heard of Christ and the gospel ; nay, if it be so much 
as granted that there is the hope of a chance for the re- 
pentance after death, of souls for the first time brought to 
a knowledge of their Savior, these Christians cannot 
think of any reason why the gospel should be preached to 
them at all. At any rate, they confess that the work would 
riave only a feeble interest, and probably would languish. 
Indeed, I imagine that some of you whose memory reaches 
t>ack to the elder days of Universalism in America will 
remember how this same argument was alleged as an 
objection to our own faith; if it were true, why preach, or 
pray, or practice, even. 

"I myself remember a minister of a Christian church, a 
man of culture, spirituality, and generous impulses, who 
once asked me if I supposed anything but a sense of the 
danger human souls were in from eternal death, would 
have induced him to turn away from a lucrative business 
and the prospect of a large fortune, to become a minister 
of Christ. I had to tell him that I thought there were 
other motives, which would have placed him where he was ; 
and I am happy to add that he subsequently admitted it, 
and handsomely apologized for the unkind implication of 
his remark. But it illustrates the feeling which underlies, 
even to-day, the theoretical reasons which orthodoxy still 
assigns for its work. It is the prospect of eternal woe for 
all who do not accept Christ in this present world. 

" Now, I ask again, if sin be the abhorrent thing which 
orthodoxy, in accord with Christianity, teaches it to be, 
what stronger motive could be alleged for working to free 
human souls from its grasp. If sin means alienation from 
God, inward misery, reproach of conscience, insatiable 
passion, turbulent hatred, affections blighted, high hopes 



OF MISSIONARY EFFORT. 1 25 

cast down, talents squandered, progress hindered, peace 
invaded, misery begotten, and happiness forbidden, why is 
it needful to add the motive of hell and its accompani- 
ments to punish as a reason for benevolent activity on 
behalf of sinful men ? Is there nothing in that terrible 
catalogue to rouse the zeal of kindly hearts ? What could 
any conceivable hell have to offer more threatening than 
this? 

" Here, then, we strike the true answer to those who feel 
the need of the threat of perdition in order to rouse their 
activities on behalf of either home or foreign heathen. 
Here is the sublime answer to those who still ask us, as 
they asked our fathers, why preach the gospel if your faith 
be true ? It is a sufficient and comprehensive reply to 
say, because sin is a state of misery from which every 
impulse of love prompts us to save ourselves and our fellov 
men. There is no hell but sin. And sin is a present hell.. 
And the need is far more urgent to deliver men from a 
present evil than to plan against a prospective one. Is not 
that a solid and logical basis of action? Let us consider 
it in detail. 

" And, first, I say that there is no hell but sin. I know 
how full this world is of misery. I hear as plainly as you 
do, the ceaseless undertone of pain, the continuous wail 
that wrecks our happiness and thwarts our peace. But 
still I affirm that there is no hell but sin. All pain is not 
punishment. All misery is not the gloomy torment of hell. 
There is much suffering in this world which is no bar to 
happiness. Human anguish is not a synonym for human 
wretchedness. No one who has had any experience with 
those who suffer the worst from life's afflictions will deny 
that the human heart can be happy through all of them y 
except sin, a?id that no man can be happy in his sins ! 

" You may go and visit the hospitals and infirmaries of 
this world, and come away impressed with the enormous 



126 THE TRUE MOTIVE 

sum of physical suffering which man endures. But you 
will bring away with you memories of such sweet patience, 
such serene content, such heroic courage, such simple 
trust, such refined and holy love, that you can never again 
find it in your heart to call physical suffering an unmixed 
ill. You may go to the quiet enclosures where your dead 
are resting, and counting up the swelling mounds, and 
remembering how each one of them bears a heart-ache 
and a lingering sorrow, you may feel as if the world was one 
charnel-house, a huge golgotha of human hopes. But if 
you read the inscriptions of hope and trust that mark these 
resting places of the dead ; if you stop to think how many 
lives you yourselves have known which have been broadened 
and uplifted by the hard discipline of bereavement, then 
you will pause before you cry out against death as against 
a cruel judgment. I have lived long enough to come in 
contact with many a form of suffering and of pain. But I 
have never seen a single one over which I could not see 
some souls rising in triumph, save the one desperate evil 
of sin. Pain of every sort, disappointment, grief, loss, 
bereavement, sickness, all these together are not strong 
enough to wreck or darken human happiness. But one 
thing can do that, — the awful experiences of sin. * * * 
" But if it is true that there is no hell but sin, it is 
emphatically true that sin is a present hell. A sinful man is 
a miserable man. He is unhappy ; and he is tormented. 
It seems as though it ought to be needless to argue this 
point. After the thousands of years of its moral life, the 
universal testimony of the human race is that sin and mis- 
ery are synonymous terms. God does not hold his judg- 
ments in the leash, to let them loose upon the sinful and 
impenitent soul when it crosses the threshold of eternity. 
He follows it day by day, and step by step, meting out 
incessant judgments. He recompenses it every hour for 
its iniquities. He does not withhold his penalties until a 



OF MISSIONARY EFFORT. 1 27 

given date in order to give man a chance to evade them 
altogether. He administers them according to our inqui- 
ries, as warnings to check us, and as punishments to 
recompense. ' The way of transgressors is hard ', says the 
Good Book. 'The wicked man travaileth in pain all his 
days.' ' In the revenues of the wicked is trouble.' 'To be 
carnally minded is death.' Hardship, travail, trouble, 
moral death ! These are accompaniments which the Scrip- 
tures allot to the life of sin ; distributed along the pathway 
of transgression and scattered through all the days of the 
sinner's life. They begin with the beginnings of sin. 
They follow hard upon it, to the end. The old word 
spoken on the mount of cursing, fearfully describes the 
fate of those who choose the evil way : ' The Lord shall 
send upon thee cursing and vexation, and rebuke, in all 
that thou settest thine hand to do.' 

" Is there any doubt, my friends, that sin itself is a con- 
dition which appeals to every sentiment of pity and 
humanity? Can you plead any more urgent reason for 
missionary labor, and for activity in spreading the gospel, 
than the knowledge that the creation is groaning under the 
yoke of just this horrible curse ? I pity the man or 
woman whose heart does not ache over the miseries of this 
world. And I am sorry for him whose intelligence is so 
narrow that he can see nothing to call for the loving toil of 
devout hearts, unless there be a threat of endless pain to 
incite and rouse our humane feelings. For, I am sure, the 
best feelings of human hearts are invariably aroused by 
the thought of present sorrow or ill. There are efforts as 
broad and as Christian in their scope as the missionary 
work, at home or abroad, which are carried forward solely 
by the sense of sympathy for the suffering, by the desire to 
lessen the sum total of human pain. I am sure it does not 
require the background of eternal death to set forth the 



128 



THE TRUE MOTIVE 



woe of those poor sufferers from European floods in such 
wise as to call upon men's sympathy and wealth. 

"When Chicago lay in ashes, you did not need any 
appeal, save the simple knowledge that there were brethren 
and sisters of yours, needy, homeless, in distress. The 
whole country leaped as one man to the rescue, and gave 
and worked most nobly in behalf of those in want. When 
the scourge of yellow fever swept the South, a few years 
ago, there was no lack of enthusiasm in sending help to 
those stricken cities. Ah, there comes before my eyes, the 
form of an old college friend, himself not strong, but 
brave and tender-hearted, and Christian, who, when the 
call came for physicians and for nurses, left the little prac- 
tice he had been building up here, and straightway reported 
for duty in the South. Moved simply by the sense of a 
human need stirred by the thought of brothers in disaster, 
he went cheerfully to labor in a field of danger, for love of 
his kind. Is there not power enough in such a motive as 
this to command the best life of the world in behalf of the 
sinful and those ignorant of God's law ! 

" Indeed, I am sure that this, after all is said, is the real 
and effective motive of most of the preaching, the missions, 
the labors for soul-life, as it certainly is of the charities 
and philanthropies of this world. I do not for one 
moment believe that orthodox men do themselves nor their 
religion justice. The practice of men is sometimes a long 
way in advance of their preaching and teaching. And in 
this case I am constrained to believe that underneath this 
unworthy notion, to which the D. D.'s and professors would 
like to refer the enthusiasm of missionary effort, there is 
another and far higher. 

" The real motive which makes such earnest workers for 
the gospel, is not a zeal against hell, but a zeal for humanity \ 
it is not the sense of humanity's peril so much as the 
yearning for humanity's good, and the love of humanity's 



OF MISSIONARY EFFORT. 1 29 

God. That is the motive of all the efforts and enterprises 
of the Christian church. That is reason enough for the 
preaching of the word and for every power of reform and 
regeneration. Because sin is the only real hell ; because 
it is a present hell ; because it is the bar of human happi- 
ness and the prolific source of human woe ; because every 
humane and Christian heart longs to see human beings 
happy and in peace ; because, too, every thoughtful, 
serious mind is anxious to have men find their highest, 
best, truest life, nor stop anywhere short of it ; for these, 
thank God, and for no lower, and unworthier reasons do 
we present the gospel. Not from the fear of a future 
peril, but from pity for a present woe ; not through the 
fear of endless perdition, but through sight of world-wide 
suffering ; not by the narrow dogma of the bigot, but by 
the broadest love of their kindred, are Christian souls 
prompted to that restless search for the lost, which was the 
Lord's great motive. ' I am come ', said He, ' that ye 
might have life, and that ye might have it more abund- 
antly.' That was why He wrought. Do we need any other 
motive? As long as we live let us work to bring men to 
the light, and so increase the sum of human happiness and 
holiness. That will be motive which time cannot weaken, 
nor change destroy." 



CHAPTER XII. 



Young People's Missionary Associations.* 



BY KEY. C. ELL WOOD NASH. 

The circumstances under which I stand forth to speak on 
the topic assigned are themselves evidence of the import- 
ance it carries to the minds of the Trustees who prepared 
the programme. The subject of Education is universally 
admitted among us to be one of the highest merit and 
paramount claims. That a proposition so recent as that 
which relates to the formation of Young People's Mission- 
ary Associations should be thought fit to divide the time of 
this Convention with that other theme, shows that it was 
thought fit to be presented at length and with emphasis. 
The fact of the Universalists assembled in this Convention 
to listen to a discourse on the subject, is evidence of the 
importance with which it has come to be regarded. I can 
only regret that the theme has no better spokesman than I 
shall prove to be. In a feeble way I stand here fully com- 
mitted to the possibility and desirability of the project. I 
am, even in a mild way, an enthusiast upon the subject, but 
I hope that will not be taken to prejudice my utterances 
concerning it. 

Young People's Missionary Associations are not, at this 
speaking, altogether a matter of theory. They have been 
subject to the test of practical result and movement. 



cldress delivered at the Universalist Convention, New York, Oct. 19, 1887 



MISSIONARY ASSOCIATION. 



131 






And the results which can be reported after a brief exis- 
tence, and under discouraging circumstances, as in the 
documents presented by the Board of Trustees for our 
consideration this afternoon, as having raised upwards of 
$2,200 for general missionary purposes, shows that the 
theory stands already, to some extent, proved, and the 
query may be well raised, " If so much from so little, how 
much from what ought to be ?" It is no part of my 
object to discuss the practical results already accrued. I 
wish to speak of the theory. A theory I do not remember 
to have seen expounded anywhere, but which appears upon 
the surface of the proposition itself. 

Confining myself, then, to a practical discussion upon a 
practical theme, I have nothing to offer in the way of 
oratory, but something in the way of suggestion as to a 
means of attaining my theory, pregnant with large possi- 
bilities for the future of our church. My own estimate of 
this Convention is that it ought to be gathered for the pur- 
pose of discussing the future. It should set its face 
resolutely towards the possibilities and opportunities that 
await us, and as little as may be dwell upon what we may 
have been doing. Forgetting things behind, reaching 
forward to things before, let us press to the mark of the 
high calling of God in Christ Jesus. 

Why, then, have our Board of Trustees suggested the 
formation of a Young People's Association ? 

First, let me freely say that the object is a general rather 
than a specific one. It is not, if I understand them, a 
proposition to add a new wheel in the machinery of our 
church, but to provide for the foundation of the future 
itself. It is not to work along another line merely, but to 
look after the great question of Universalism in the next 
generation. Why is it proposed that the young people 
should receive such special attention? The answer is 
obvious. It is a recognition of the broad and primary fact 



I32 YOUNG PEOPLE'S 

that youth is the rormative period of life ; that the impres- 
sions received then perpetuate themselves and become the 
seed of other impressions like them. " Give me," the 
Roman Church is reported to be in the habit of saying, 
"'Give me the youth until twelve years of age ; afterwards- 
you can ply them with temptation and inducements. I 
shall retain most of them." 

The fact is familiar that character is mostly formed in 
youth. Familiar facts, indeed, scarcely command the 
slightest recognition. Mankind seems ever in search for 
novelty — something strange ; some excitement ; something 
mysterious always commands the energy of mankind. This 
fact met with the earliest recognition. "As the twig is bent 
the tree is inclined." Did not Solomon say, a thousand 
years before the Christian Era, " Train up a child in the 
way he should go, and when he is old he will not depart 
from it?" Yet it remained for the present century, or its 
immediate predecessor in the person of Robert Raikes, to 
suggest the first definite plan of dealing with young people ; 
arming them against the temptation that beset their mature 
lives, and endeavoring, during their young and plastic con- 
dition, to mould them into the conditions of piety. It is a 
most astonishing fact, that so long after Solomon taught 
that unquestionable truth, that youth is the season for in- 
struction, the Christian Church has just waked up to a 
portion of its responsibility in that direction. 

It has only partly waked up now. The Board of Trutees- 
look to our further awakening along the same line. Youth 
is the formative period. When men grow older they get 
harder ; they get into ruts. Take this familiar fact, which 
is asserted to be valid among those who have their eye 
upon statistics. In other churches who work by revivals, 
the great majority of conversions are said to occur under 
twenty years of age. A man is still young at thirty. More 
than three-quarters of the conversions occur under the age 



MISSIONARY ASSOCIATION. 133 

of thirty. It touches upon the most common-place fact. 
Young men and young women are still immature, their habits 
are unformed, they are easily led. That is why I would 
emphasize the importance of religious teaching to the 
youth before he has matured, and while he still is unformed 
and easily moulded, when his- nature will respond and freely 
vibrate to the touch. We should avail ourselves of this 
principle. The enthusiasm and plasticity of youth are our 
opportunity : if we neglect, it is time that scarcely will 
return. Youth is the "nick of time." We ought to use 
every means within our power to press home the higher 
obligations upon the growing mind of the young man and 
young woman. 

Let no man make the mistake that this will take care of 
itself. "We have to take care of others and these others 
take care of still others. Each generation is the custodian 
of its successor. If we are groaning under evils that are 
unrebuked, because so common, yet not the less heavy, it 
is because our fathers neglected their opportunities. We 
have been the heirs of no end of defects and indulgence upon 
this particular question, and the result is visible. Is there 
a church represented here which has not to lament every 
day of its existence the dearth of genuine interest among 
the young people? They lapse from the services in the 
sanctuary. They are gradually drifting away from the 
Sunda)fc-school. They are stamped with the impress of a 
growing and dominating secularism. We cannot hold them 
here as well as our fathers could. I suspect this fault has 
been growing upon us from generation to generation. If 
anybody doubts this statement, let it go. It is of no great 
consequence. That it might be better, I submit to the Con- 
vention, is the only question that should be pressed home 
to the Convention. I stand here not to boast of the past 
nor to pronounce great things as to the future. I get no 
consolation from the fact we are doing; as well as our 



134 YOUNG people's 

* 

fathers did ; we should do better. If a thing is bad it can 
be remedied and should be remedied. 

Did somebody ask how we are to separate the young 
people from the great mass of the congregation ? There 
are two or -three reasons why this is in itself a desirable 
thing to do. In the first place they feel more freedom by 
themselves. They get away from leading strings and feel 
more responsibility. I believe it will be found practical if 
the young people are allowed to work out their own salva- 
tion. If young people are entrusted with special work, 
they will at least show more genuine regard for the work 
committed to them. They may make mistakes. Errors of 
the head can be corrected ; the main thing is to get the 
heart right, afire with the spirit of the Gospel. What is the 
matter with the Sunday-school ? We get our young people 
together in the Sunday-school, only in a few years to find 
them separated from it. The actual Sunday school is one 
thing and the theoretical Sunday-school is another. I 
think that we should gather the young people under 
the wings of the church, and by teaching them morals, and 
faith and spirituality by setting them good examples, train 
them up into Christian lives. This is a great thing, but it 
is not practical, that is, not in the fulness and completeness 
that we desire. Is it not a matter of common remark that 
there are level-headed men who have ventured to inquire 
whether the Sunday-school is not an actual damage*to the 
church. I do not believe that. No man could conceive it, 
were it not for the defects and difficulties presented in our 
Sunday-schools to-day. 

The first of these difficulties is the almost universal lack 
of system of the Sunday-school work, proceeding upon no 
organized plan and with no definite and intelligent mode of 
operation. Each teacher is left in the main to his own 
methods and impressions, to draw from his own experience, 
with no strictly marked and well matured course of work 



MISSIONARY ASSOCIATION. 135 

and standard of attainment set before him. There is no 
reason why this should be so. 

The Sunday-school does not provide for that freedom 
and responsibility which beget interest in young people. I 
believe in the Sunday-school and would by no means see it 
done away with, but these defects should be met and over- 
come. The first difficulty, lack of method, can be remedied 
from within, but the other defect must be remedied from 
without ; that is, by appeals to the enthusiasm of the 
young people, and for this broad and specific reason we 
urge the organization of a Young People's Missionary 
Association. What does it mean, what can underlie that 
term, "missionary?" It is love to God and love to man 
in the most intense degree. It is only when the elements 
of a living faith pervade and influence our being, that we 
are moved to make sacrifices. A Missionary Association 
is a society for doing religious work, not for the contempla- 
tion of religious topics ; not merely to engage in some form 
of activity, but actively to apply religious principles. If 
we have any object as a Christian Church, what is it but 
this — to get young people to be religious ? It is not enough 
that men should be interested : it is not enough that they 
should add to their interest humanity and philanthropy; it 
is required of man that he should give his heart to God. 
And while we abate no jot of emphasis upon the integrity 
and morals which are demanded of our citizens, we insist 
upon it that we must not forget to lead them in prayer to 
the altar and give them the open sesame to Heaven. 

Here permit me to say with as much deference as possi- 
ble, that it is on this account that I do not grow hot and 
enthusiastic over the social clubs in our churches for 
dealing with young people. As far as my experience goes 
there is not the religious result attained that ought to be 
expected. There is some reason for this. These societies 
provide no devotional aim, no organism to cultivate in the 



I36 YOUNG PEOPLE'S 

young any religious feeling ; they are simply appeals to the 
intellectual taste to draw them together by a lower bond. 
They squander the energy of the young people. Young 
people and old people too, have just so much energy to 
expend. If we squander it outside of the church, we take 
it from the church. We cannot have our cake and eat it 
too. When young people give their enthusiasm for the 
purpose of dancing, or for the study of some literary or 
artistic work, they are dissipating their energy. 

Is there not something further on this point? Have we 
not discovered, some of us at any rate, that these social 
and literary clubs tend to cultivate in young people a 
feeling of self-complacency in the doing of something 
external, and something relatively easy? How many peo- 
ple in our parish are there who satisfy themselves with 
going to church or giving money to the support of the 
preacher ? All this is good, but many a man can do this 
and be a very pagan. We have some people who do 
this in nearly all our churches. When through the pastor's 
influence the Young People's Literary and Social Club is 
stamped with the emphasis of the church there is a certain 
feeling that by attending regularly here they are attending 
to their religious duties. Young people cannot seek here 
the divine way. I think these societies do much to parry 
the influence due to religion. I cannot believe that literary 
societies are anywhere in the church an unmixed blessing, 
and would not be so even upon the highest level they pro- 
pose to themselves to attain. 

Here the query arises, and I wish I had some angelic 
unction to press it home : Have we not shrunk a little 
from pressing religious teachings home upon our youth ? 
Have we not said to ourselves, " It won't do to take advan- 
tage of the impulsiveness of youth, we must wait until he 
is older?" Have we said that? Have we allowed to 
pass opportunities to make a religious conversion ? Have 



MISSIONARY ASSOCIATION. 15 7 

we taken every opportunity to acknowledge and bear testi- 
mony to the blessings that a divine faith and Providence 
have showered upon us ? Have we neglected in our 
families the Home Altar ? Have we neglected to say grace 
at table ! Have we neglected other opportunities to 
impress a religious life upon the child ? 

I have discovered this in my own Sunday-school — the 
failure to impress with any sort of unction a moral fact. 
and a much greater infrequency in impressing any devo- 
tional fact. It is obvious that a large part of our Sunday- 
school scholars are fed upon dry husks of geography and 
history. They get the so-called interpretation of the 
thought, but to say to John and Mary, " If lying is wrong, 
do you lie?" '-Are you careful to tell the truth to your 
playmates!" "Are you scrupulous in obeying your father 
and mother?" amounts to very little. 

Young people come together in the church obviously to 
have a good time. I know of but one solitary young peo- 
ple's prayer meeting in the Universalist Church. I hope 
there are more. Young people do not come to old people's 
prayer meetings either, and they are largely missed from 
the service. Have we shrunk from impressing upon these 
young people the importance of consecration to the life of 
a Christian ? Is there difficulty in doing this kind of work 
with young people ? What shall we say to get them 
aroused? What is a deep reaching faith unless it be that 
the nature of man is religious '. What is a deep reaching 
faith unless it be that God has committed to His people a 
nature which cannot help expanding into a broad and high 
religious feeling when properly treated ? There is a relig- 
ious nature in these young people if we can bring it out. 
Universalist young people are like any other young people; 
they are as capable as other young people and as ready to 
respond to any genuine demand to live a Christian life as 
any other young people. If young people are not what 



138 YOUNG PEOPLE'S 

they ought to be we must make them so ; we must get them 
established upon a religious basis. This is the business of 
the church. If it is not the business of the church I do 
not know what is. To get the young people and old people 
too, to be religious, not simply to an outward show of 
religon, but genuinely in love with their Heavenly Father, 
is what I believe the church is for. We must get at the 
young people and convert them. I think it can be done. 

I pass to my third point. Supposing it to be true that 
there are urgent reasons why these young people should 
take on the form and principles of a genuine religious 
movement, it may still be asked why not let every pastor 
do what he sees to be best in his own parish ? There is to 
my judgment something invidious in that question. Here 
we have got our Board of Directors from their vantage 
ground where they can see the whole field, to make a new 
proposition to the church to do some particular thing, and 
we catch just enough of the spirit to go right about doing 
something else. There are good reasons why it would be 
better for us to have some uniformity in this matter, a 
national organization and a uniform plan of work. There 
are three good reasons for this. In the first place, mutual 
counsel. Mutual counsel and conference between diif erent 
ascociations and suggestions and plan of work ; mutual 
excitement and the gain of genuine and wholesome rivalry 
between different branches of the Association ; still more 
important, a greater acquaintance among the young people. 

Keep in mind that the young people are to be the old 
people presently. They are to stand in the places where 
you stand. They are to occupy your position. If they 
can come up to take the responsibility of the church on 
their shoulders with an interest and knowledge in the work 
and with considerable information and confidence in each 
other, this mutual acquaintance will do a good deal toward 
the stability of the church in the future. If there are to 



MISSIONARY ASSOCIATION. 139 

be mutual counsel and mutual excitement, there must be a 
means of communication. It seems to me that there ought 
to be a medium of communication established, a paper or 
a magazine. Perhaps at first it may only be possible to 
open two or three columns of our papers to them, but 
there ought to be some channel of communication through 
which we can know what the mission at Chicago, or at 
Roxbury, or at Shawmut Church is doing. It would be a 
great advantage to me. I should get new ideas ; it is possi- 
ble we might suggest some new ideas to the rest. Such a 
paper as that would provide the best vehicle for that kind 
of communication. 

I want great emphasis given to the fact of the object 
being to get the young people to be tributary to the genuine 
work of the church and to teach them to lift their eyes 
beyond localisms to the broad sweep of Universalism as it 
marches to conquer worlds. Here is an opportunity to 
develop social advantage ; here is an opportunity for liter- 
ary work if only that is made subservient to the religious 
work. The idea is to do certain things for our young 
people. In the first place to make them religious, to teach 
them loyalty and love for the church • then to train them 
in definite habits of work. 

In conclusion I have two suggestions to offer. We want 
to get our young people as well as our old people more 
genuinely interested in a practical and faithful piety — to 
get them to be religious. What is the way to do it ? This : 
— To get the young people to do something in a religious 
way. More than all the sermons that can be preached 
from the pulpit is the benefit of actual work to the young ; 
it will lift them out of narrow ruts ; it will lead them to 
view the world as it stands. To relieve distress and trouble, 
to see the needs of the world and to do their part towards 
remedying them will be to put the desire to carry on the 
good work into the heart of every noble man here. It is 



14-0 YOUNG PEOPLE'S 

for this effect in my judgment, more than all others for 
which we should have Young People's Associations. In all 
churches it would do more to solve the most vexing and 
pressing problem, namely the supply of ministers. If you 
can get these young people to actually be ministers without 
taking the name, to take bread to the hungry and clothing 
to the naked, you have done much and they would soon be 
willing to take upon themselves both the name and duty of 
ministers. 

Let the young people do actual missionary work. 
Employ a missionary if possible ; let him go to Japan or 
Chicago, but a missionary to do actual missionary work to 
be paid by these young people here ; let them go into their 
own pockets. From time to time they would get reports 
from the far or near land of the 'progress of the work. 
The missionary shows the difficulties ; he announces the 
obstacles to be overcome ; the young people feel it as they 
would not feel it were it not their own work. From time to 
time he visits and brings his knowledge to these young 
people. I do not think that if in that parish there is a 
young man or woman in whom are the elements for a Chris- 
tian minister, they could fail to be brought out. That will 
be the best preparation possible ; that will make them 
willing to take the name with all that it involves. 

I do not consider the Missionary Association as the 
remedy for all our ills. I have no desire to banish anything 
in order that this may take its place except the literary and 
social club. But here is a sling for our bullet, a hilt for 
our sword, a means to thrust home the truth were it will 
grow and expand and mature and conquer the world. If 
these things are to be done it must lie with the pastors — 
with me and with you. It lies with the Press. We should 
urge upon the parishes the feasibility of the formation of 
the young people into such religious organizations. 

We have now about thirty-eight organizations. Should 






MISSIONARY ASSOCIATION. I4T 

we have a National Organization of Young People, a Mis- 
sionary Association, I believe the young people themselves 
could support such an organization, and we stand ready 
any moment to contribute our share towards it if neces- 
sary. If we had such an organization I believe that 
instead of thirty-eight organizations, in a few years we 
would produce a report of one hundred, or one hundred 
and fifty or two hundred. I believe it would be an organi- 
zation for the good of the church. 

See to it that our young people learn the divine way of 
life ; see to it that they grow into higher and holier thought. 
See to it that the young man takes from you your crown, 
that you use every means to inculcate the Gospel into the 
hearts of the young. It ought to be so and by the efforts. 
of this church and the blessing of God it may be so. 



CHAPTER XIII. 



Opportunities of the Association. 



BY GRACE F. WHITE. 



What splendid opportunities are presented to our 
Universalist young people who are banded together under 
the specific name, — Young People's Missionary Associa- 
tion ! The mere fact of membership in such an organiza- 
tion is, in itself, an education toward generous and thought- 
ful consideration of others less favored than ourselves ; an 
inspiration to the study of the meaning and the mission of 
the Universalist Church. It awakens and strengthens the 
sense of individual responsibility for the success of our 
denominational interests ; and rouses to healthy and intel- 
ligent enthusiasm, our noblest and best efforts for the 
diffusion of Bible truth, for the increase of the Christian 
ministry, and for the upbuilding of the waste places of 
our Zion, to the end that the uttermost parts of the earth 
shall learn to love and serve the Lord. 

Under the authority of, and in sympathy with the Uni- 
versalist General Convention, our work is outlined, to a 
certain extent, though by no means limited. Beyond our 
promises of certain moneys, and an annual account of our 
stewardship, we are given the largest liberty, consistent 
with Christian loyalty, as to special and definite work. We 
may make ourselves useful as an auxiliary to the church 



THE ASSOCIATION. 1 43 

with which we are connected, rendering our aid in all 
beneficent enterprises in its midst ; and may constitute our- 
selves Home Missionaries among the poor, the sick and 
sorrowful of the town or city in which we live. A few 
suggestions may be acceptable to those among us who 
desire to use all legitimate means toward the accomplish- 
ment of the best results, and the realization of the grandest 
possibilities still latent in our Young People's Missionary 
Associations. 

1. Being banded together with the avowed purpose of 
helping to make the world better, we should use all possi- 
ble aids toward spiritual growth among our members. 
Young People's Conference and Prayer Meetings, held 
regularly, are among the most powerful factors in the 
attainment of an earnest and sincere consecration of 
mind, heart and soul to the service of Christ. There 
should be a committee 'to plan the work, and choose the 
leaders, and, if desirable, the subjects for consideration. 
Let the young people feel their responsibility, pledging 
themselves to active participation in the meetings ; and the 
holy influence will bless, not only the young people, but the 
whole church. We know of one society holding such con- 
ference meetings every Sunday evening. They -are helpful 
to all who attend ; and are rousing into vigorous action, 
the noblest and best aspiration for a personal and vital 
consecration to the Christian life. 

2. Then, again, we wish to work intelligently in this 
matter ; and should supplement our public Sunday evening 
meetings, and our sessions for literary exercises and social 
intercourse, by an occasional Missionary Meeting; where 
the distinctive doctrines of our church may be noted, 
where its needs and its claims upon our love and service 
may be explained, where some special phase of missionary 
work may be discussed, where suggestions may be inter- 
changed as to methods of procedure, and where pledges of 



144 OPPORTUNITIES OF 

service may be given, according to ability and opportunity. 

3. Then there are little missionary services to be rendered ; 
which because they cost so little to give are apt to be forgot- 
ten, or omitted altogether. Among the members of our 
organizations are those who can sing, those who tan read ; 
and who have, or could make the leisure to use their gift. 
By inquiry among the church people, we shall surely learn of 
some one who would feel it a blessing to receive the minis- 
tration of a kindly voice. 

4. May we not also institute in our midst a Flower Mission, 
whose special committee shall be enabled to carry brightness 
and beauty to weary and waiting souls ? 

5. And as we rejoice in the assurance of God's all-mighty 
and everlasting love, and as we realize that some have never 
heard the Bible message in its fullness, may we not devote a 
portion of our money toward the purchase of copies of God's 
Word, for free distribution, and for the circulation of our de- 
•nominational literature, that some soul may be blessed into 
newness of life and trust, and that all who read may feel the 
inspiring influence of gospel truth? 

Ah, what an ever-increasing amount of good may be ac- 
complished if we are awake to our opportunities ! God has 
given us the field. He calls us to His work. And through 
His might we may save souls for His service. We may speed 
the day when his kingdom shall be established in the earth, 
and when the prophecy of old shall be fulfilled, and " every 
knee shall bow, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ 
is Lord, to the glory of God the Father." We are promised to 
God's service. Let us earnestly pray and diligently work, 
that He may find us faithful servants alway. 

Young People's Missionary Association of the 
Universalist Church. 

The following copy of Preamble and Articles 1st and 2nd 
will explain the purposes of the movement : 



THE ASSOCIATION. 1 45 

Constitution and By-Laws of the Young People's Associa- 
tion of the Universalist Church : 

Preamble. We, the young people of the Universalist 
Church of America, realizing our obligations to the faith it 
teaches, "The Fatherhood of God and the Brotherhood of 
Man," and esteeming it our privilege and duty to assist in 
promulgating these truths, which have so blessed our own 
lives, and which angels proclaimed: "Good tidings of great 
joy which shall be to all people," we do hereby organize our- 
selves into an- Association, having for its object more sys- 
tematic and efficient effort in church extension and mission- 
ary work, and adopt the following Constitution and By-Laws : 

Article 1. This organization shall be known as the Young 
People's Missionary Association of the Universalist Church 
of (name of parish). 

Article 2. This Association shall be composed of all the 
young people of this parish of twelve years and upwards, who 
may desire to aid in promoting the objects as set forth in the 
Preamble and who shall annually pay into its treasury the sum 
of not less than 25 cents. 

A Circular Letter, a copy of which is appended below, will 
accompany the constitutions, and we trust it will appeal not in 
vain for the immediate action of our ministers, superintend- 
ents and friends of our church. 

Very much, nay, nearly all depends upon our ministers and 
Sunday-school superintendents, the acknowledged lights and 
leaders in our own as in any church work. You are earnestly 
requested to act without delay in this movement, which is so 
fully commending itself to every thoughtful and earnest lover 
of our faith, that as much as possible may be accomplished 
before the summer vacation in our churches, and that all may 
be in line of action when we gather around our beloved altars 
in the autumn. The now is all that is ours: 'tis the accepted 
time. 



146 OPPORTUNITIES OF THE ASSOCIATION. 

To the Ministers^ Superintendents and Friends of the Univer- 
salist Church: 

We commend to you the organization suggested in the ac- 
companying documents. The promotion of the missionary 
spirit among us is greatly to be desired, not only for the ad- 
vancement of missions, but also for the culture, of sweeter 
graces and a more comprehensive faith. If the usual work 
of our churches has not developed such a spirit to the degree 
we could wish, it has not been for want of incentive in our 
form of faith, but rather from want of organized power. That 
the end suggested may be more directly and efficiently sought, 
we recommend associations in every parish — whether com- 
posed of few or many supporters, embracing persons of both 
sexes, of all ages over twelve years, with special reference to 
youths. We suggest a Constitution and By-Laws for such 
associations, for the sake of uniformity. These associations 
are proposed as auxiliaries to the authorities chosen by our 
church, and not as interference with any form of work already 
adopted. Is there any better way to develop a strong and 
abiding love for our church and its work than such a move- 
ment as this, wherein each one assumes a personal responsi- 
bility to manifest by works their love for the faith they profess, 
for, "Faith, if it hath not works, is dead?" 

We ask you to take immediate measures to form such asso- 
ciations in all your parishes, promptly notifying the Secretary 
of the General Convention and of your State Convention, of 
the organization of the same. 

If this request is complied with, this year shall indeed mark 
an era of increased activity in the work of the missionary 
spirit of our church. 

By order of the Missionary Box Committee and the Commit- 
tee on Missions of the Board of Trustees of the General 
Convention. 



CHAPTER XIV. 



Church Organization. 



The importance of proper organization for the work of 
church institutions is not infrequently overlooked, and we here 
present the remarks of a devoted Universalist layman for the 
consideration of all who desire to know more- about the 
machinery of such bodies necessary to the successful manage- 
ment of the same. 

Mr. Wm. H. Trickey says : 

" Let all bitterness and wrath and clamor and evil speaking 
be put away from you, with all malice. But be tender- 
hearted, forgiving one another." If this spirit could always 
prevail, there would, perhaps, be little need of church organi- 
zation or discipline ; but Paul knew too much of human 
nature to expect this. Hence his golden injunction to the 
little flock at Ephesus. The same blessed light must illumine 
our path ere we can have fullest success. But ere we can 
become so conditioned in heart and mind as to receive the 
most glowing rays of such light, we must grow. To have 
fullest growth there must be the most thorough organization. 
It is patent to all mankind that order was one of God's funda- 
mental laws, if not the foundation of all law. We cannot 
have healthy growth physically, mentally or spiritually, if the 
organization is wrong. How absolutely true this is of all 
nature, things animate and inanimate. It is equally true of 
all bodies, civil, military, benevolent ; of communities, com- 



148 



CHURCH ORGANIZATION. 



monwealths and nations. Those having advanced the farthest 
in this regard have been the most useful, powerful and pros- 
perous. 

"Then does it not seem perfectly certain, if our church is to 
succeed — is to take the position, wield the influence, do the 
good it ought, and that you all believe it is destined to do — 
there must be order, discipline, the fullest concert of action all 
along the lines ? There must be, if we win the fight ; and 
even when won, ' eternal vigilance ' must be the price of per- 
manent success. 

" As to details, we cannot say much in fifteen minutes. 
There should be plenty of committees to do the work. You 
cannot have too many if the spirit is right; if wrong, one may 
be a check upon the other. When the work of our parish, 
church, Sunday-school, Young People's Association, the 
Ladies' Society, began, as our pastor continued to suggest 
committee after committee, a clerk for this and treasurer for 
that, we confess to a little disturbance of mind ; thought the 
machinery might become complicated ; but we soon found 
that each one naturally dropped into his or her place, and 
things ran smoothly along. Our feeling now is that we really 
need one or two more committees. Give as many as possible 
responsibility and a chance to work. There certainly is work 
enough for all. 

While we plead for the most thorough organization, let us 
have as few iron-clad rules, as little red tape and as much free- 
dom as possible. To illustrate : An attempt was made not 
long since in a parish meeting for the adoption of a constitu- 
tion to restrict a vote to those paying pew rents for at least 
three months preceding. The intention was good; it was to 
prevent, under strained circumstances, any from coming in at 
a late date for the direct purpose of defeating some object 
beneficial, or carrying some measure detrimental, to the soci- 
ety. Our notion then was and is, if there is not soul enough, 
religion enough, coupled with good, practical common sense, 



CHURCH ORGANIZATION. 1 49 

in a Universalist parish to govern such matters, nothing else 
will. Besides, we believe in a very broad system of suffrage 
in all matters. Perhaps those paying little or nothing into the 
treasury may be doing grander work, and will vote with vastly 
more intelligence, than some who pay the highest pew rents. 
The latter will in any event have as much voice upon all 
questions as is profitable to them or the society. You want 
no one-man power. If you have it, your course, to say the 
least, cannot be 'Excelsior.' 

" While we fully recognize, and devoutly thank God for the 
open hand of the wealthy and the generous heart of those of 
lesser means, let us not forget that the grandest works in human 
progress and spiritual triumphs have not, as a rule, had their 
origin in high places, but among the humble, those willing to 
practice self-denial, make sacrifices, labor in any channel, if 
so the highest good of the cause they love be attained. 

" Just here we are reminded that if our organization is all 
it should be, we must have throughout all its branches the 
fullest support of the ladies. Airs. Livermore has said, ' While 
the men are the head, the women are the heart of our church.' 
We go further than that. Not only are they largely the real 
life and soul of our faith, but give the safest advice, the wisest 
counsel, and in all things contribute their full share of brains. 
What parish could exist two years without their material aid ? 
God bless the loyal women of our church, should ever be the 
prayer of every true lover thereof. 

11 If our work shall remain intact for the generations to come, 
nothing must be left undone in the Sunday-school, everywhere, 
to attract the young people to us. Certainly no religion ever 
preached was so calculated as ours to draw them. We must 
win them if our methods be right ; and the very best methods 
for all our work should be a constant study. 

"In financial matters the most thorough system and abso- 
lute clearness must prevail — the books always open, and so 
kept that even he ' who runs may read.' There must be left 



150 CHURCH ORGANIZATION. 

no room for question in this regard. People desire to know 
(and they have the right) just what is being done with their 
money. In this connection I would say that, if in the present 
or near future we are to benefit mankind very much, it seems 
important that we be educated in gathering up the fragments, 
in looking more sharply after the littles. A Sunday-school 
with an average of eighty members, bringing, in the past year, 
from penny collections alone, the sum of $50.00, indicates, 
perhaps, what might be done in this direction. In raising 
funds the amplest opportunity should be extended to all to 
give as they have means, or are moved. Those wishing to 
give nothing need a constant reminder as to their duty. Per- 
haps each parish can best decide its own method, but it has 
been our thought that sometime this Convention might devise 
a uniform plan which might not meet with so much opposition 
and criticism. 

"After some thought, conquering a little prejudice, and see- 
ing several different ways tried, I firmly believe, that for all, 
the envelope system for weekly payments, with the collection 
taken every Sunday morning (and evening, if you please), is 
the best. This should have no terrors for us, if our hearts are 
right. As we grow, how forcibly it comes to us that it is indeed 
more blessed to give than to receive. 

" Joining the church. If we build upon the Rock there 
must be consecration. There may be better men and nobler 
women outside than within the church, but even they could 
do grander work within. We must not wait to become better ; 
we need the church to help us to become good. I most sin- 
cerely wish that all fully endorsing our faith might be declared 
in full fellowship therewith. It would aid our cause beyond 
compute, and bless the individual soul more than ever could 
have been hoped. The Dover parish regards its gradual in- 
crease in church membership in three years, from perhaps 
six to sixty, as a bulwark against all attacks from without or 



CHURCH ORGANIZATION. 151 

dissensions within. We feel it will be our sheet-anchor in all 
crises. 

"Just a word on the relations of pastor and people. We 
have heard much said upon this subject by those of different 
denominations. Some contend the minister should be the 
head — the controlling mind in all things, secular as well as 
spiritual ; while others think he should not interfere, should 
not attend meetings of parish or trustees without special 
invitation ; that he should have no voice whatever in business 
matters. Now we doubt not the pastor, as a rule, would 
thank the brethren and render sincerest praise to the Author 
of all, if he could be relieved of this burden. But would not 
most parishes have rather a sorry time of it were this attempted ? 
But this cannot be. We must meet on common ground. 
Pastors must assist us with their wider experience, deeper in- 
terest and witness of different methods. 

Why, we might as well forbid the laymen attempting to aid 
spiritually as to proscribe the clergy from business matters. 
To my mind no people can afford long to retain a pastor 
whose advice they do not crave upon all important measures, 
and who is not heartily welcome to all their deliberations. If 
we have not this confidence, frankly give him the reason, as 
he should tell us of our faults and failings. We should not 
sulk in his presence, absent ourselves from services, finally 
drive him away, he, perchance, never knowing just why he left. 
Brethren, let us do our part; then, should any preacher 
so far forget his high calling as to abuse our trust, the worst 
would be his — condemnation would surely and speedily follow. 
But he will not do it ; the thought is an insult to our own 
judgment in calling such to preside over us, and a great wrong 
to those laboring so faithfully for our highest welfare." 



In this connection we present the following story to show 
the importance of 



152 church organization. 

Prompt Payment of Salaries : 

" On the occasion of one of the recent annual religious con- 
ventions a minister walked several miles to find the treasurer 
of his parish, to obtain money with which to pay his fare to 
the convention. The treasury was empty, and the poor 
minister was obliged to remain at home, to his own dismay 
and the disappointment of others who expected to hear him at 
the meeting. But the worst feature of the case was that the 
parish was six months in arrears on salary. 

"Is there not an important and a sad lesson in this inci- 
dent ? It is often the mismanagement, or want of manage- 
ment, of the financial affairs of a parish which proves its ruin. 
It discourages the minister, leading him to give up a pastorate 
which otherwise might be long and profitable to both pastor 
and people. Some collectors fear to ask the members of the 
parish for their subscriptions, lest they be offended. Some- 
times the irregular time or method of collecting the parish 
dues leaves the subscribers in doubt when they are to be pre- 
pared for the call of the collector, and thus they are not ready 
to pay when called upon. The asking for the payment of sub- 
scriptions at some stated time is bat a proper and just business 
duty which a collector ought not to put aside for fear of 
offending. The request to pay, and thus help the parish to 
meet its expenses, can be made in the language of Christian 
courtesy, so that no one need be offended. Those who 
pledge any amount toward the parish expenses should consider 
that pledge as binding, and as necessary to be met promptly as 
a note at a bank, that the honor of their parish be kept un- 
tarnished in its financial record. Then ministers would have 
less financial burdens, and changes of pastorates would be 
lessened in number and frequency. A just care and effort in 
this direction would greatly advance the cause in any church." 



CHAPTER XV. 



Management of the Business Affairs of a Parish. 



BY ARA CUSHMAN. 

I remember reading of a minister who was much in the habit 
of exhorting his hearers to put more religion into their business. 
Some of the managers of the parish, believing him to be un- 
practical and visionary in many of his undertakings and 
methods, often thought it necessary to advise him to put 
more business into his religion. So there seemed to be a 
contention between worldly and spiritual things. 

Whether or not our parishes are suffering from lack of 
religion in the business methods and transactions of their 
members, it is evident that many of them are not prospering 
as they might if there were more business in their religious 
methods and work. 

If religious w:>rk is not much more successful when con- 
ducted upon business principles, managed in a business way, 
there is something the matter, either with the religion or the 
principles of the business management. When sound and 
honorable business management is applied to religious work, 
if it does not prosper the better for it, the trouble is with the 
religion. Wnen the religion founded and taught by Christ 
does not prosper, there is usually something the matter with 
the business management. 

I reluctantly accepted the invitation of the Executive Com- 



154 MANAGEMENT OF THE 

mittee of the Convention to speak on the topic, "Manage- 
ment of the Business Affairs of the Parish, " because I am 
aware of the difficulty of managing such affairs satisfactorily, 
as well as of my inability to talk about it in a way that will 
be instructive and interesting. 

In the start, it may not be clear just what is to be under- 
stood by the "parish;" and I may not understand exactly 
what "affairs" of the parish are "business affairs." For 
convenience I shall assume that by parish is meant whatever 
organization is supporting preaching or carrying on religious 
work in any community, whether it be church, society, parish 
or club ; whether legally organized and incorporated and hav- 
ing the right to "sue and be sued/' or formed of members 
associated together informally and temporarily. And I sup- 
pose management of the business affairs is understood to be 
providing for the needs and expenses of the organization it- 
self — for minister, choir, fuel, lights, insurance, repairs, etc. 

The efficiency and the value of the work done by the min- 
ister and people ©f a parish, and the prosperity of the par- 
ish, depend in a great degree upon the manner in which its 
business or financial affairs, are managed. Doubtless many 
parishes that otherwise would have been active and prosper- 
ous have been crippled or entirely broken down by inefficient 
or unwise business management. Many others have kept 
together and lived in spite of financial management that 
would ruin almost any secular enterprise. 

The resources of a religious society depend very largely upon 
conditions and circumstances which are somewhat uncertain 
and that cannot always be foreseen or controlled. Managers 
of parishes have to depend very much upon the interest, zeal 
and liberality of the parishioners, which they cannot always 
" realize " on to meet their obligations. This fact makes it 
difficult to apply the same rules and methods to the manage- 
ment of the affairs of a parish that are necessary in conducting 
the finances of ordinary business operations. Men who are 



BUSINESS AFFAIRS OF A PARISH. 1 55 

"punctual to the moment sworn " in meeting an obligation, 
or a " promise to pay," in a business transaction, sometimes 
allow their pew rents or parish subscriptions to remain unpaid, 
while the minister goes without his salary and the services of 
the organist and singers become voluntary, in a financial as 
well as a musical sense ; and bills against the parish, which 
should be promptly paid, are put off to an uncertain future. 

Certainly an organization for supporting religion and teach- 
ing morality should not allow its business affairs to be managed 
in a way that would ruin the credit and injure the reputation 
of a man of the world. The managers of a parish should have 
it definitely understood when pew rents or subscriptions are 
expected to be paid, and that in order to meet the obligations 
and maintain the credit of the parish, they must be paid when 
expected. I am aware that taking seats in a church, paying pew 
rent, contributing for religious work, and even attending church, 
are voluntary matters. They cannot be enforced by law, 
for Church and State are not under the same government. 
Duty, inclination, custom, association, habit, all go to make up 
reasons why people go to church. But with a large fraction of 
the people of any community, neither of these considerations, 
nor all combined, make a motive strong enough to make them 
supporters of parish work, or attendants at church. Hence 
the financial support of a parish must come from those more 
interested in its work. It becomes, then, a ei business affair" 
to increase the resources of the parish by inducing non- churchgoers 
to take seats and become attendants ; and also to stimulate at- 
tendants to take additional seats, so as to have room to invite 
a friend or a stranger to church, as they would a guest to their 
table or home. For accomplishing this result, I can offer no 
specific method, or claim any wisdom or experience, beyond 
what is possessed by most parishioners. 

In moral and religious work, as well as in business enter- 
prises, men and women who are expected to provide means to 
carry them on, unless they can see results that seem to them ' 



156 MANAGEMENT OF THE 

to be adequate, will furnish money timidly and grudgingly. 
They want to feel reasonably sure of some return, or that 
something will be accomplished that they can count as success. 
People like to have their investments yield satisfactory returns. 
Success may mean different things to different people, but all 
look for success of some kind or degree. All enterprises and 
all expenditures are expected to pay . 

This is said to be a practical age. Men want to believe in 
practical things, and want practical results from money and 
labor expended. What are practical results ? What are 
adequate returns for money spent in moral and religious 
work ? Of the things that make up our lives — our enjoyments, 
our happiness, that inspire us with courage and ambition to do 
the work and meet the responsibilities, that give us strength 
to bear the burdens and support us in the sorrows, that best 
fit us for the enjoyments of the life that now is — of these 
things, which are the practical ones ? The most practical 
things are the things humanity most needs, whether they con- 
tribute to physical wants, mental enjoyments, or faith in 
immortality and the eternal goodness of God. 

Whatever best equips men and women, boys and girl*, for the 
duties, the enjoyments and the vicissitudes of the life they are 
now living, gives them the best thoughts and inspires them with 
the noblest purposes, is the most practical. We educate our 
children ; we beautify and furnish our homes ; we seek enter- 
tainment and amusement ; we strive for gain and honor, wealth 
and distinction, because we believe the returns we receive pay 
for the effort they cost. These things are all good, and are 
worthy of effort, money or sacrifice. But are they any more 
valuable, are they any more practical, to men and women as they 
meet the events that their lives bring to them, than the teach- 
ings and influences of religion? 

The kind of house in which we live is of less practical im- 
portance than the manhood and womanhood that lives in us. 
Honor and virtue are of far more practical value to our boys 



BUSINESS AFFAIRS OF A PARISH. 15 7 

and girls, as they are taking the places of men and women in 
the world, than French and German. Faith in God, integrity 
of character, an unshaken confidence in truth and justice, are 
practical things in the life of any man, whether he practices 
law or preaches the gospel, whether he is king or peasant, 
employer or laborer, teacher of science or interpreter of the 
Bible. 

Does it not pay to maintain churches and support the 
preaching of the gospel of truth and righteousness? May we 
not reasonably expect returns as valuable to ourselves and our 
children, from money that pays for religious teaching and 
worship, as from that which affords means for physical and 
intellectual education ? 

It should be no part of the work of the managers of the 
business of the parish to secularize sacred things, but rather 
to consecrate secular things. Everything God in His provi- 
dence calls men to do is sacred, and should be faithfully 
and nobly done, whether it be worship or work, whether it 
applies to commerce or conscience, toiling for bread to satisfy 
physical hunger, or seeking the bread of God that gives eternal 
life. We call some things secular and worldly and others 
sacred and holy, but we make these distinctions too marked 
and too wide. The life we are living we should count eternal 
life. This busy world wherein we act our parts in life's drama 
and are heroes or cowards, triumph or are defeated, live on 
the mountain where the air is pure, or in the mists of the 
valley, are thrilled with happiness or burdened with sorrow 
— this is God's world as much as any is, or ever will be. There 
is no place where man treads, in the legitimate work or enjoy- 
ment of life, where it may not be said, " Put off thy shoes 
from off thy feet ; for the place whereon thou standest is holy 
ground." 

I have thought it necessary t© say but little about the or- 
ganization or the details of the business of the parish. Dif- 
ferent kinds of organization and methods of management 



158 MANAGEMENT OF THE 

may be needed for different places and circumstances. If 
those who are managing the business of the parish thoroughly 
believe in and are in earnest about the work the parish is 
doing, they will usually find ways suited to do the business 
required by their particular parish. 

Whenever it is practicable, I think all parishes should be 
incorporated under the laws of the State, and should conform 
in their organization to the laws of the General Convention. 
All parishes should certainly have some kind of organization, 
which should be regularly kept up, so that business done by 
officers or committees may have the proper sanction. 

Whatever form of organization or methods of business may 
be adopted by a parish, in all cases and under all circum- 
stances, its managers should not undertake to do things in 
a larger or more expensive way than the people can afford, nor 
incur liabilities that cannot be met without too much strain. 
Although business connected with a parish cannot be done 
by the same methods that apply to other kinds of business, 
it. certainly ought to be done as well as prudent and enter- 
prising men manage their own affairs. Parish liabilities not 
less than those of individuals should be provided for in sea- 
son and promptly paid. The financial credit of a parish 
ought to be regarded at least as sacred as the credit of an 
individual or a corporation. It should be determined with 
deliberation and care what the parish work shall be, and 
what the whole money obligation of the parish will a?nount to. 
Then payment should be provided for, when due, with the 
same promptness and as much sense of obligation as a business 
man provides for the payment of his note which he knows 
will be due on a certain day. 

But important as it is for a parish to keep its business 
affairs in good condition and have them as wisely managed 
as possible, this is by no means all that parishes ought to do 
in a financial way ; nor is it always the most important part 
of the business of a parish. It is pleasant and important for 



BUSINESS AFFAIRS OF A PARISH. 1 59 

the trustees or committee of the parish, at its annual meeting, 
to be able to report that the current expenses have all been 
met, that the salaries and bills for the year have all been paid 
by pew rentals or voluntary contributions. If all our parishes 
could say this, it would be an excellent thing. But if we can 
say " only this and nothing more," we are not doing the most 
important work of a Christian church — certainly not the most 
valuable work. 

"None of us liveth to himself and none dieth to himself," 
applies to parishes as well as to individuals, and with greater 
force. When a parish is satisfied to live entirely within itself, 
and does nothing except for itself, it is in great danger of dy- 
ing ; and when it dies it is not itself only that is affected. If 
it pays for a parish to maintain religious worship and work 
for the benefit of its own congregations, it ought, if only as a 
matter of enterprise, to do something to help establish parishes 
and preaching where our word is not spoken and our name is 
not known. In doing this it will make itself stronger to bear 
its own burdens and do its own work. 

If the agent of a mill should expend all his thought and 
effort in providing fuel to run his engine and oil for his 
machinery, he would not make a success of manufacturing. 
A parish does but little better, if its work and purposes end 
when it has provided means only to run itself. Our work 
must be more than self-supporting. // ?nust be aggressive. 
Every reason for establishing and maintaining churches and 
parishes is an obligation to do charitable work by looking after 
and assisting the deserving poor in our midst, to go beyond 
our church and parish limits by contributing to the various 
benevolent institutions that are helping the poor and unfortu- 
nate in the State, and to encourage young men of the right 
kind to enter the ministry of our faith, and assist in their 
education if it is necessary. 

We must extend and grow, by enlisting under our banner 
and enrolling in our ranks all whose sentiments are in accord 



l6o MANAGEMENT OF THE BUSINESS AFFAIRS OF A PARISH. 

with our faith, and by converting to our faith such as can be 
reached and influenced by its preaching and teaching. 

We work too much in a circle, and are too apt to be satis- 
fied when our work ends where it began. We run our power 
too much on loose pulleys. Let us attach our belts to wheels 
the turning of which will do work, as well as afford an op- 
portunity for work. 

We must go into new fields and possess new points of attack, 
as well as maintain our present ground. Our army is organ- 
ized and maintained to march^ and not to parade and mark 
time. The need of our denomination is not a standing army, 
but one of campaigns and of occupation. 

When these convictions possess the minds and the hearts 
of our people more generally, it will be easier to get recruits 
and supplies for our ranks, and the business affairs of our par- 
ishes will then be more easily and more satisfactorily managed. 



CHAPTER XVI. 



Organization and Management of Sunday-Schools. 



There is a right way and a wrong way for doing almost 
everything. Success is seldom, if ever, achieved, except 
through system, order and method. But one method may be 
good, another better, while still others may be positively bad or 
worthless. All will not succeed alike with the same method. 
Experience is the safest guide. Though the experience of 
others cannot be a sure guide for us, it is the best light we 
can have to lead us where our own feet have not trod ; hence 
we present, in this chapter, the wisdom of others, gained 
through long experience in the work and management of 
Sunday-schools, for the benefit of such as have had but lim- 
ited experience, or who may be just entering upon this im- 
portant field of work. 

The Ideal Sunday-School. 

From a paper on this subject by H. C. Packard, a Sunday- 
school superintendent of nearly fifteen years' experience, we 
present the following brief outline : 

I. Have a well-defined purpose. That purpose should be 
to teach the principles of the Christian religion to both young 
and old, as Universalists understand them, and to bring each 
member to a right understanding of, and a right relation to 
the organized church and her work. This is to be best accom- 
plished through certain methods. 



1 62 ORGANIZATION AND MANAGEMENT 

II. Organize the school with officers and teachers as 
much as possible in sympathy with this purpose — earnest, 
willing, faithful, ready to turn away from any pleasure which 
might come in contact with the work. 

III. Have no class in the school exceed six* (perhaps 
eight) in number, and it should be kept at that number as 
nearly as possible. 

IV. Arrange each class out of close associates, as nearly 
as possible, and each teacher be one of them. 

V. Have a teacher of teachers, one who does nothing 
else. Not the pastor, not the superintendent, but some one 
else. 

VI. Make order Heaven's first law, during the sessions ; 
and have freedom in teaching — except so far as not departing 
from the central thought of the lesson — even freedom from 
the lesson sheets and Helpers. 

VII. Have the music suit the lesson. Let every song be 
made to awaken feelings most appropriate to the central 
thought. Everything should tend to the understanding of 
the lesson. 

VIII. Cultivate an acquaintance with every member of 
the school. Let no clique exist. Though a secondary mat- 
ter, the social relations are highly important. 

IX. Let teachers feel they are responsible for the actions 
of their classes. 

How to Teach. 

Teach the exact lesson. We should aim to teach, as God 
shall give grace and strength, the appointed lesson of the day, 



[* Remark. In reference to the number in each class, circumstances 
may necessitate a larger number, even, than eight. If there are 
plenty of good teachers available, the plan of having the classes small 
is altogether best; but it would be better to put a dozen pupils in one 
class, under an efficient teacher, than to give half of them over to an 
incompetent teacher. Almost everything will depend upon the faith- 
fulness and efficiency of the teachers. — W. F. C] 






OF SUNDAY-SCHOOLS. 1 63 

and not some other, however good. It may suit the fancy of 
the hour, or be deemed easier to teach something else — to 
allow one's self to be diverted into some other train of thought, 
to indulge in pious harangue or cheap exhortation on some 
topic suggested at the moment ; but such so-called "teaching" 
is subversive of good order, of the utility of thought and pur- 
pose every well-ordered school should strive to obtain, is 
demoralizing to the class (and to the teacher as well), and 
usually brings both into contempt. 

The exact lesson can only be taught when we thoroughly 
study the lesson ourselves. It makes a vast difference in the 
amount of work accomplished whether the farmer says, " Go, 
boys," or "Come, boys." Can we, with any reason, expect 
the scholar to learn, remember and repeat to us all the lesson, 
if we ourselves know little about it, and have to read even 
that ? Undoubtedly the way to interest a class is to teach 
them something you have yourselves had to study out. This 
will be perceived, and will give them confidence in the 
teacher and interest in his instructions. It will also awaken 
enthusiasm in the scholars, and lead them to more earnest 
study of the lesson for themselves. Let the scholar feel that 
you have a great deal of interesting information to impart, 
which he will lose if the lesson be imperfectly learned, and you 
are consequently compelled to employ the recitation hour in 
teaching what ought to have been learned before he came into 
the class. Make him sensibly to feel the loss he has oc- 
casioned. Then persuade him to home study in order to 
prevent it. 

Make your preparation two weeks ahead, and lay out each 
Sabbath the work of the next, and give the scholar to under- 
stand just what you expect of him next Sabbath. This is no 
more than the skillful teacher in the public school always does, 
and will aid almost more than anything else in obtaining the 
desired end. — Bible Teacher. 



164 organization and management 

What Shall We Teach? 

We cannot expect to have the rigid precision which char- 
acterized the days when theology was everything and when 
religious education was largely drill in dogma. The breaking 
forth from the trammels of the old machine religion, the pro- 
test of the spiritual nature against the iron limitations put 
upon it, and the look upon God's providence as spiritual, has 
opened up vast distances and long periods that make impos- 
sible the old theological precision. The work of the Sunday- 
school and of the church can no longer be the narrow training 
in creeds. It must take a wider sweep and have some of the 
indefiniteness that characterizes every department of the 
universe. The International Lessons assist the larger view of 
religion and the operation of spiritual principles. The call 
for the theological satisfaction of the mind must be met by 
grasping laws instead of limiting facts. Calvinism wound up 
the moral universe by sending some souls to hell, others to 
heaven, limiting all active interest to the scenes of earth. It 
was false, unnatural, but it was precise. We need to give the 
mind the deflniteness of Universalism, the sure rest of the 
laws of the Eternal Fatherhood. Those laws hold the moral 
universe in their embrace. The young people come up 
through the classes of our Sunday-schools without being in- 
tellectually grounded in the laws of this great religious science. 
We need to teach systematically, to teach a rational philosophy 
of religion, the laws of the Fatherhood of God, the principles 
of the universe, and we are neglecting our mission if we do 
not do so. We need to teach a reasonable interpretation of 
the Bible. It must be kept in the Sunday-school. We can- 
not afford to leave it around if it is to be slyly whispered 
about, as though its character were open to suspicion. It is 
the book of books, the volume sacred indeed, and worthy the 
study of all, a medium of life and light to man, but only 
when it is reasonably viewed. All things else are but prepa- 



OF SUNDAY-SCHOOLS. 1 65 

rations and aids for this end — the betterment of souls. In 
the presence of this influence the Bible is one. It looks be- 
hind myth and legend, history and prophecy, private life and 
national movements ; it comes forth from the souls of 
patriarchs, prophets, poets and sages ; it culminates in the 
wondrous soul of one man, Jesus Christ, through whom we 
realize the power of life and the impotence of death. — Rev. 
T. IV. Illman. 

What the School Should Teach. 

As the failing body needs fresh air, so the soul needs the 
reviving spirit. It is an error that Christianity is a mere be- 
lief — a mistake into which some Universalists fall. Chris- 
tianity is a spirit and a life ; it is love to God and love to man. 
This is the need, and it answers the question, What should 
be taught in the School? Children should be taught kind- 
ness, benevolence, goodness. The practical spirit is the soul's 
protection : it keeps out evil ; it shields the soul when beset 
by temptations. Whatever will impart this spirit — be it story, 
be it principle, be it doctrine — is the thing to teach in the 
Sunday-school. — Rev. Walter Dole. 

Preparation. 

It is you, my friend, who have charge of a class of Sunday- 
school scholars — you who are reading these words — that I 
address. Will you give me a single moment's attention ? I 
wish to ask if you have as great success with your class as 
you desire. Are your scholars as deeply interested in their 
school, their lesson, their teacher, as you wish, and as they 
ought to be to get the most good ? Do you feel that they 
are growing up Christians, destined to be pillars of strength 
and beauty in the temple of the Lord ? Or do you often 
have occasion to mourn, if not their absence from the class, 
their lack of interest in the best things, and the littleness of 
your influence over them ? Do you sometimes feel that you 



i66 



ORGANIZATION AND MANAGEMENT 



are accomplishing little or nothing for their real welfare, and 
might almost as well abandon all attempts to do them good ? If 
the latter — which I take it for granted has sometimes been 
the case — have you ever thought it possible that the reason 
of your little success is that you have not prepared yourself 
for your duty ? Yes, preparation — is it not the lack of that, 
more than anything else, which renders your labor in the 
school irksome, and hinders you from making the impressions 
you would ? 

But do you ask what preparation is needful ? How may I 
best qualify myself to meet my class? Let me answer. 

First, Study your lesson. No matter how simple it is ; 
how thoroughly you understand it ; how small your scholars 
are; how simple a thing it seems to teach them. Though 
the lesson be simple, it shades off into the sublimest realities. 
Though it be simple, it is not too much to affirm that you do not 
fully comprehend it. Think of it and see if it do not assume 
some new and inviting aspects. Think how you can illus- 
trate it. Think what story or incident you can tell that will 
carry its meaning home to the young hearts. An illustration 
will be remembered when all else is forgotten. 

Secondly, Try to appreciate your responsibility. How great 
this is ! For what are you dealing with ? Mere inanimate, 
worthless material, which though you misshape or ruin, it is 
of no consequence? You are dealing with the most precious 
things in the universe, compared with which diamonds of 
fabulous value are contemptible. You are dealing with celes- 
tial and imperishable material — with immortal minds. You 
are making impressions more durable than any upon marble 
or brass. You are working for eternity. Would you under- 
take to carve a statue from the stainless marble without 
preparation ? Would you carelessly and thoughtlessly at- 
tempt to mould a brass statue ? Can you essay in any such 
way to carve or mould a character, whose existence will have 
but begun when the marble and the bronze are dust, and 



OF SUNDAY-SCHOOLS. 1 67 

which you may on the one hand distort and deform, or on 
the other develop in exquisite grace and beauty ? Not if 
you appreciate your position and your work. 

Thirdly, Remember that God giveth liberally to all that 
ask ; and ask him for a right spirit in which to meet your 
class. In other words, see that you are a Christian as you 
would try to teach Christianity. Ask yourselves while read- 
ing these few words, Am I a religious person ? Not, Have 
I some religious ideas and aspirations ? but, Is it the dominant 
wish and purpose of my soul to lead a holy life, and contin- 
ually approximate the source of all good ? Have I ever 
really consecrated myself to the service of God and man ? 
If, my friend, you cannot answer these questions affirmatively, 
how can you expect to quicken the young souls you come 
in contact with ? Can ice impart heat ? No more can a 
careless, irreligious, sensual person teach religion. Can the 
sun help shining and warming the earth ? No more can a 
sweet and holy soul help blessing all that come within its 
sphere. If such be your temper, in due season you shall 
reap. 

Prepare yourself then, my friend, to teach. Study your 
lesson. Comprehend your responsibility. Get nigh the In- 
finite Heart. Then, while you cannot fail to do good, untold 
blessings shall flow into your own soul, causing you ever- 
more to bless the time you tried to lead a young child to 
Jesus Christ. — Selected. 

Illustration. 

How to get illustrations for the lessons is a question which 
many teachers find a difficult question to answer. The Sunday- 
School Journal gives the following advice : 

Grow them. Don't go to the books to begin with, although 
you may go to them to end with. The best illustrations grow 
in the garden of your own soul. But you cannot pick them 



1 68 ORGANIZATION AND MANAGEMENT 

up as you gather daisies by the wayside. You must grow 
them. 

How ? Take a lesson and master it. Get all the facts into 
your brain. Get them and hold them. Get out of the facts 
the lessons that are in them. Feel your way into the heart of 
the lesson, and lay hold of the one or two great lessons that 
are there. 

Now lay hold of some child and tell him how it is. Tell 
him the facts. Tell him the lesson. Watch him as you try 
to tell, and when he is not interested, tell him the lesson 
until he is interested. Make it clear to him. Tell him how 
the thing he does not know is like something he does know. 
Put it to him in his own language, with tones and words he 
must understand. 

In this effort you will force illustrations. They will leap 
into your thought. They will tell themselves by your lips. 
And when on Sunday you try to teach the same lesson to other 
children, the illustrations you have developed will be ready for 
your use. 

Try the plan of growing your own illustrations. 

Primary Teacher. 

i. Endeavor to prepare the children's minds to receive the 
particular instruction you are wishing to give, by finding some- 
thing in their own experience in analogy with it, and thus pro- 
ceed from something they know to something they do not 
know. 

2. In your lesson always endeavor to make one point 
prominent, and let your whole instruction bear upon it, like 
rays leading to a common centre. 

3. At the conclusion of each lesson, gather up the crumbs ; 
that is, collect and arrange whatever has been brought forward, 
and let the children repeat, according to the elliptical plan of 
teaching, the substance of the lesson, in order that what they 



OF SUNDAY-SCHOOLS. 169 

have received and been exercised upon may be fixed in their 
memory. 

4. Draw from the children, by proper questions, the fact or 
precept you may wish to bring out, and then imprint it on 
their memories by simultaneous repetition. 

5. Before you give a lesson, consider by what series of 
questions you can lead the children to the point on which you 
wish to engage their attention. It is very easy to tell a fact. 
Some teachers will simply narrate it ; others, by the elliptical 
plan, will suggest the ideas to the children and allow them first 
to supply the word ; others, again, make it obvious by sugges- 
tions and acting. Neither of these plans accomplishes the 
object of cultivating habits of thought and attention. Con- 
sider always that you have given a bad lesson if you have told 
the children much and they have told you little. 

6. Avoid questions that can be answered by yes and no, and 
do not suggest to the children the answers they ought to give ; 
as, for example, by stating two things, one of which is the 
answer to the question. 

7. Keep the children but a short time at any mental ex- 
ercise, and as soon as it is over relax their minds by some 
physical recreation. 

8. Do not allow the children to speak in a loud tone, as it 
excites the mind and wears the body. Give whispering lessons, 
and lessons in a low tone occasionally, that they may feel their 
power to regulate their own voices. 

9. When children get dull and inanimate, raise your voice 
and repeat your words faster. 

10. Avail yourself of the effect of sympathy upon the chil- 
dren, and they may be governed almost entirely by it. — 
Christian S. S. Teacher. 



i70 organization and management 

The Cheery Teacher. 



BY MARGARET E. SANGSTER. 

Years ago I knew a class in which a disintegrating process 
was always going on. It could not be kept together. Per- 
sistently the superintendent filled it up, bringing new recruits 
to make up the gaps which were always occurring in its ranks, 
but it was in vain. The boys could not stand the chill of its 
atmosphere, nor be natural under the influence of the good 
but dismal elder who taught it, and away they went to find 
brighter and more congenial places. It was in vain that the 
excellent man haunted his pastor's study, laboriously read 
this great book and the other, in the desire to make the lesson 
interesting, and devoted, yes spent himself, in efforts to keep 
the young men's Bible class where he felt it should be — in the 
front of the school, a sort of shining light and example. In 
his hands it was a little more than a name, a tradition of a 
good thing that had been, and he at last resigned his task in 
absolute despair. 

There followed him very quickly a gentleman not nearly so 
well educated, not nearly so thorough, not, at a casual glance, 
half so well fitted for the position. But before many Sundays 
had passed, everybody was talking about the change. The 
class rallied around the new leader. One young man brought 
another. Their blithe, eager faces, their cheery voices, their 
interested manner, showed that they enjoyed coming, and the 
good people who had been lamenting over the fact that the 
boys of this period so soon grew too large to go to Sunday- 
school, had reason to felicitate themselves on having been 
greatly mistaken. 

Where was the secret ? Both were good men. Both were 
anxious to teach well. The first was a failure and the second a 
success. 

It was no secret to any one who could read human nature. 



OF SUNDAY-SCHOOLS. 171 

One had the magnetism of a happy, joyous, enthusiastic 
temperament. He bore his light aloft on a candlestick, to be 
seen of all. The other, by reason of a naturally moody and 
melancholy disposition, which had grown morose through 
much brooding over trouble and loss, hid his light under a 
bushel. Young people were repelled from the one, as certainly 
as they were attracted by the other characteristic. 

You will have no difficulty in holding your growing-up boys 
and your young ladies, if you bear in mind two facts : they 
must have good teaching and they]must have cheery teachers. 
The air around us is full of stimulus. Information abounds. 
Wide-awake girls and boys of this day have been in the 
secular schools under the influence of the most advanced 
minds and the best text-books and the most thorough preceptors. 
They will not rest contented with inefficient, half-digested and 
second-hand instruction in the Sunday-school. They are will- 
ing to be students, and they want some one able to guide them. 
Then they will not — and who can blame them ? — submit to sit- 
ting down among the tombs when all the sweet world is full of 
sunshine and gladness. Let us have cheery teachers for their 
sakes. — Sunday- School World. 

Teach How to Study. 

You will not live long enough, and if your life should be 
spared a thousand years, your scholars would not stay with you 
long enough for you to teach them all they ought to know of 
the Bible. You will therefore do the most successful work if 
you will teach them how to study the Bible, and inspire them 
with a real love for its study. Any means you may employ 
to reach these ends will lie in the direction of the best service 
you can render them. — Christian S. S. Teacher. 

Qualification of Teachers. 

Sunday-school teaching must not proceed on the assumption 
that one method is equally efficient for all. The way which 



172 ORGANIZATION AND MANAGEMENT 

leads to success for one may lead to failure with others. 
Therefore, avoid routine work — a routine which leaves no scope 
for the different individual gifts and aptitudes of different 
teachers. Here, as in other spheres, common sense must have 
precedence over arbitrary rules. 

Yet in perfect consistency with this general statement, it may 
be said that there are certain methods which every teacher 
should pursue, and a vital one is, the teacher must put work 
into the vocation. A hurried reading of the lesson, a hurried 
scanning of what the Helper says in regard to it, just before 
the opening of the school, that is not a qualification. The 
teachers must know what they are talking about, and they 
must apply themselves to the understanding of the lesson — 
there must be preparation. 

Again, there must be a love of the work, a love which creates 
a willingness to assume the responsibilities, that will forego 
some things in order to discharge the duties, that will submit 
to some hardships even, if the work shall bring them. A love 
for the work will find the methods and make them successful. 

How to Dismiss. 

Once more, teachers in dismissing their classes should not 
dismiss them from their thoughts, their sympathies. They 
should know their scholars in their homes — know them in 
their needs — know in respect of things whereof the parents are 
heedless and indifferent. And the school work should be pur- 
sued with reference to the later and maturer outcome in the 
church. — Rev. C. A. Skinner. 



To Secure Punctuality in Sunday-School. 



BY MARGARET MEREDITH. 

My rule is almost too simple to offer, and yet, in practice 
most superintendents shrink from it. 

It is merely, Begin when the hour comes. 



OF SUNDAY-SCHOOLS. I 73 

I once belonged to a model Sunday-school, in which there 
was little complaint of tardiness, but which, under a new, 
though very good, superintendent, gave great trouble in this 
matter, until the old plan was suggested and restored. 

Bpldly begin with three children, if three are present. If 
your musician and singers are absent, never mind that ; change 
the order of the opening exercises, or even its whole character. 
You can pray and you can read chapters. More children and 
teachers will come in as you read, to swell the responses ; and 
you can afford to be very polite to your singers when they do 
arrive, for the sight of the difference they have caused in the 
school routine will do more than any words to show that their 
presence is necessary. The children, too, will quickly im- 
prove. 

Some will always be late, but if it is not known exactly when 
school really opens, a great many will be late. 

Numbers. 

Large attendance is not a positive evidence of success in the 
Sunday-school, any more than a large head is of great wisdom. 
A school may become too large and unwieldy, and the super- 
intendent's ability to manage it be overcome by numbers. A 
little work well done is better in its results than a half-neglected 
work of greater magnitude. See that you carefully sow and 
nurture your small field rather than waste the good seed on 
the rocks to die. — The Golden Lesson. 



Study Your Scholars. 



BY MRS. C. S. NICKERSON. 



I doubt not that if here and now the question as to what 
the first duty of such a teacher would be were asked of the 
company present, a large per cent, would reply, to carefully pre- 
pare the lesson. Never mind about the lesson at first. Study 



174 ORGANIZATION AND MANAGEMENT 

your scholars ! Get them interested in something and 
thereby learn something of the trend of their minds. Just as 
the most experienced and best trained farmer studies his land 
to see which field is best suited to grow grain and which is 
best for grass, and then thoroughly understanding the condi- 
tion of soil in each, sows his seed, and in time reaps his har- 
vest, so the teacher, would he be successful, must understand 
the children before him ; must know how much knowledge of 
the Bible they already possess ; must learn, if possible, to what 
sort of training they are subject during the week; must try to 
understand the tastes of each, and thus knowing them, plant, 
as does the farmer, according to such knowledge. 

" But how," some one asks, " will such knowledge help the 
teacher in the routine work of the Sunday-school ? and why 
will a knowledge of a boy's character and tastes and habits 
help me to make him an interesting student of the Bible? " 

In answer to the first question I would say, every child 
may, with proper training, be made an assistant teacher. Let 
me take one kind of a boy as an example. He is a badly 
behaved boy at home; he is at least mischievous and dis- 
posed in the Sunday-school to make fun of what the teacher 
says. Only a short time will elapse after his entrance into 
your class before he will try the effect of some of his naughty 
words or acts upon his fellows. Then if you do not under- 
stand him and keep a watchful eye upon him, you may expect 
small results from the lessons you try to teach. But if you 
know him to be mischievous or even worse, you will not only 
keep him constantly in mind but in sight during the entire 
session of the school. 

We are reminded in this connection of a certain teacher in 
a public school who was reported by her scholars to have her 
eyes in the back of her head. The reason for this assertion 
was that one day as she was putting examples upon the board 
for the next day's work, and necessarily standing with her 
back turned toward the school, she chanced to give a back- 



OF SUNDAY-SCHOOLS. I 75 

ward glance and caught a glimpse of one little rogue passing 
a note to a neighbor. Deliberately finishing the column of 
figures which she was placing before the scholars, she said 
(without turning round), " Jimmy, you may bring the note 
Johnny just passed you to me, and both boys may stay in at 
recess." So it seems to me that the Sunday-school teacher 
must be able to see all her pupils, but must be particularly 
watchful in the direction of mischievous or inattentive ones. 
Perhaps a good way to conquer the bad boy of the class would 
be to make him the apparent favorite ; to always reserve a seat 
for him at your own right hand, to ask him to pass the books, 
to look out your passages of Scripture, or to do any little 
errands which you wish done or can invent for him to do. 
This may teach him self-respect, and in learning this new, 
good lesson, perhaps he will forget to let his bad traits show 
themselves. His respect and liking for you as his teacher 
will begin to grow also, and he will listen to your instructions 
and begin to learn of better things than those of his past life, 
and the rest of the class, being no longer hindered by his bad 
example, will become teachable also. 

So without many words it becomes apparent that if there 
be an unusually good and attentive boy in the class, he should 
be so placed among the others as to be a constant example to 
them, thus becoming of the greatest assistance in helping his 
teacher to preserve order and in instructing and interesting 
the pupils. — Church of Our Father \ Chicago. 

Visit Your Scholars. 

Attendance at the Sunday-school depends upon the interest 
felt by the scholars. Before you blame or reprove an irregular 
scholar, consider if you have used all the means possible to 
you in increasing his interest. One means of arousing such 
interest is by visiting him at home. This may profitably be 
done : 

i. If the scholar has been absent for successive Sundays. 



176 ORGANIZATION AND MANAGEMENT 

It is quite likely to arouse his pride to find that he is of suffi- 
cient importance to be missed and sought out. It may also 
make him realize that his absence is a hindrance to the work 
of the class; that his example is influencing others to be 
irregular. A little personal visitation of this kind will often 
gain not only the regular attendance but the personal friend- 
ship and cooperation of a scholar. It costs little to try it. 

2. If the parents are indifferent. First, it is a matter of 
pride on the part of parents that you have taken an especial 
interest in their child. It suggests to them that the matter 
must be worth attention, if a person otherwise disinterested 
takes pains to work for their children. If the lessons are not 
usually learned, you may interest parents to aid the scholar, 
or at least to direct him, so that the lesson will thereafter be 
attended to. Or, you may even induce the parents them- 
selves to attend the school and study the lessons. At any 
rate, they must surely conclude that the work is worthy their 
attention if you thus labor, unsolicited, to interest them in it. 

3. In order to gain a better knowledge of, and acquaintance 
with your scholars. At the school you see the scholar in his 
Sunday face, as well as in his best garb. But if by a little 
visiting, an acquaintance with his surroundings and hindrances, 
you come to know him better, it aids you in your efforts to 
teach him. What hindrances, difficulties, lack of moral and 
social training, bad habits, bad examples, surround your pupil 
daily ? Surely to train him, you should know something of 
these. The teacher can do this better than any one else. 
The pastor may make general parish calls, but will have too 
many charges to pay special attention to each. But you who 
have but five to ten scholars can visit them quarterly or 
monthly, with special visits for special emergencies. If you 
would do your share in keeping the number of the school 
full, specially in arousing and promoting the personal interest 
of your own class, do not neglect this obvious help. — S. S. 
Helper. 



of sunday-schools. 177 

The Superintendent. 

The superintendent who is to be a real spiritual power in 
his school must be a man of true Christian dignity, and not 
given to trifling, though he may at the same time be on inti- 
mate and familiar terms both with the teachers and the pupils. 
While intellect is by no means to be despised, it must be re- 
membered that the real fountain of permanent and command- 
ing spiritual power must be in the heart and not in the head. 
The man who feels down in his heart that the chief end of his 
work as a superintendent is to gather the scholars into the fold 
of Christ, is sure to have spiritual power in his work. — The 
Congregationalist. 

" Helping Scholars to Christian Decision." 

Christian decision is more than public confession of Christ 
and joining a church; it is having Christ in us and we in Him. 
Why are our children afraid to speak the name of Jesus? 
Subject Methods to pupils. Ask them when they are about 
to act, to ask themselves, " Would Jesus like me to do this?" 
Get personally acquainted with pupils. Look out for those 
whose influences are strongest. Give them pride in leading 
the rest right. Love them ; don't pretend it, either. Invite 
them to your home with some right sort of little women with 
them ; win their respect and confidence. Strive to bring out 
the manliness of pupils. Forget our years and be young with 
them, yet old. We teach by all our acts and words. — Miss 
Fannie Shaw. 

Class and Pew. 

Let superintendents and teachers remember the old advice : 
Get the children to attend the preaching service. There are 
four classes of people in the church who can help to this 
result : 

i. Preachers themselves, who can make the sermon at- 
tractive, and who as pastors can remind parents and children 



178 ORGANIZATION AND MANAGEMENT 

of their duty, and by persuasive arts can allure little feet into 
the house of the Lord. 

2. Parents, who can by authority, early habit and correct 
example, accustom children to go to "church," so that they 
will never think of the possibility of omitting the duty. 

3. Superintendents, who can announce and invite and 
urge with unwearying patience; who can devise plans of 
record and report by which the school shall know that its 
members attend or neglect the public service ; who can put 
such emphasis on this part of church life that teachers and 
children will continually feel its importance. 

4. Teachers, who can repeat the pleadings of the superin- 
tendent, follow by example and expostulation the earnest 
effort of the preacher, and cooperate patiently with parents, 
taking the matter up with argument, and with appeal to con- 
science, until the scholar shall yield to wise entreaty and 
attend the public service. 

The influence of the Sunday-school is of greater importance 
in those cases (and they are very numerous) where parents are 
themselves non-churchgoers. Here the redoubled exertions 
of the Sunday-school worker are necessary, that the scholar 
may be drawn to the church with its awakening, converting 
and educating influences. The school is a part of the 
church, but it is not all of the church, and its work is partial 
and its power limited, unless from its circles of teaching there 
go hearers to its pews, penitents to its altars, believers to its 
sacraments. 

Exalt the school, but do not lose sight of the sanctuary, the 
pulpit, the altar. Teach, but also preach. Study, but also 
listen and obey. Bring attentive and diligent learners to the 
open word, but bring them also into the Holy of holies, the 
place of covenant and consecration and divine grace. — Sun- 
day-School Journal. 



of sunday-schools. 1 79 

The Model Teacher. 



BY PROF. L. F. GARDNER. 

The model teacher must be a seeker for truth. Teaching 
is work and not a pastime. There should be a delight in it. 
He must have magnetism and enthusiasm. He must inspire 
confidence and love. There must be activity of heart and 
mind. The model teacher must be an idealist, must see 
things with the eyes shut. There is nothing that gives charac- 
ter and power as the Christ whom we are crowning daily, not 
the Christ who walked in Palestine, but the Christ who is at 
our side at all times, the Christ of the present, who is known 
to every true teacher. There must be the evidence of God's 
sanction in the work. 

Concerning Substitutes. 

There are few schools in which all the teachers are present 
for very many successive Sabbaths. Illness, absence from 
town, bad weather and a great variety of circumstances some- 
times make it quite impossible for the most faithful teacher to 
be at his post. In that case there must be a substitute; and 
the importance of the matter suggests the following words : 

I. To the regular teacher : 

1. Have a substitute as seldom as possible. Your place is 
not one to be left on slight occasion. Your reason for absence 
ought to be very good indeed. 

2. If you must be away, secure your substitute yourself. 
Do not send word to the superintendent, just at the opening 
of the school, that " you cannot be there to-day, and he will 
please find some one to take your place." 

3. Give your substitute reasonable notice. He cannot 
teach without preparation any more than you can. 

4. Furnish him with your lesson help. 

5. Pray for him before he goes to your class, while he is 
teaching and after he has finished. 



l8o ORGANIZATION AND MANAGEMENT 

6. In the name of Christian courtesy, never forget to thank 
him for what he has done. 

II. To the substitute : 

i. Understand in the beginning that you are undertaking 
difficult work. It is never easy to take another's place. It 
is impossible that you should know what sort of scholars you 
have, or what they need, meeting them only once. Do not 
be discouraged, therefore, if you find it hard to teach, and if 
it seems, at the end of the hour, as if you had done nothing. 

2. You have a possible opportunity of doing great good. 
Your way of putting things may strike the attention of one 
who is accustomed to his teacher, and hears his words without 
heeding them. The Spirit may direct your arrow, shot at a 
venture, straight to a mark hitherto untouched. 

3. Pray much before you go to the class. 

4. Study the lesson. You cannot teach at hap-hazard, or 
on the strength of your general knowledge. 

5. Never mind finding out "how the teacher does it." Get 
at the lesson and teach your own way. 

" 6. Pray afterward for those who have thus been brought 
under your teaching. — Walter A. Brooks in Westminster 
Teacher. 

Pastors and Superintendents. 

The relation of the superintendent to the pastor is that of 
a subaltern to his captain. As "preacher in charge" the latter 
has the oversight of every church interest, including the Sun- 
day-school. Yet, if he be a judicious man, he will give the 
superintendent as free a scope in the performance of his duties 
as is consistent with his own specific duties and the spiritual 
welfare of the school. And if the superintendent be a sensible 
man, he will treat his pastor's suggestions not with cool def- 
erence merely, but with cordial respect, and will always honor 
him before the school by cheerfully giving him suitable op- 
portunities to catechise and address the scholars. The rela- 
tion between them is in itself honorable, and may be delight- 



OF SUNDAY-SCHOOLS. 151 

ful and profitable to both. Though their respective offices are 
not of equal authority, yet, as brethren, they are equals in 
Christ, and the bond which makes them one in affection and 
purpose is that holy love which unites both to Christ. As a 
question of fact, the harmony between pastors and superin- 
tendents is generally unbroken. — Selected. 



Helping the Superintendent. 



BY C. M. AMES. 

First : In the School. Personal. Suggestions from 
teachers as to general exercises, reviews and the management 
of the school, expressions of encouragement and sympathy 
given to the superintendent, will surely help him and be 
gratefully received. Even criticism and complaint would in- 
dicate an interest in his success that would sustain him in 
hours of trial. 

Official. Every superintendent should be supported by an 
assistant, a secretary, a treasurer, a librarian and a chorister, 
who should not only attend to the duties peculiar to their 
offices, but should constantly counsel with him and plan for 
the advancement of the school. In the multitude of counsel- 
ors there is wisdom. 

Co-operative. The school without a teachers' meeting may 
not only be considered as retrograding, but its superintendent 
should not be blamed for being a failure when deprived of this 
support. Here he can learn of needed changes, of inquiring 
souls, of encouraging progress, sufficient to cheer him on to 
more assiduous labors. Here he can learn where personal 
visitation or conversation can best be engaged in. 

Normal. He needs the strong support of a system of sub- 
stitutes for absent teachers, or a normal class prepared to 
teach the lesson of the day whenever called upon to take the 



182 ORGANIZATION AND MANAGEMENT 

places of the absent. A greater discouragement than the 
finding of several little flocks without their shepherds every 
Sunday, and none to call upon to feed the precious lambs, can 
hardly be imagined. 

Musical, To leave the music as well as the platform ex- 
ercises to the superintendent is well calculated to dishearten 
even the most hopeful. Let organist and chorister, singers 
and players upon instuments support him. The selection of 
new singing-books, the paying for the same, the instruction in 
new music, should not be added to his already countless 
duties. 

Disciplinary, Sometimes the superintendent must exercise 
authority — a disturbing element needs removal from the school 
or changing from one class to another. Sometimes a class or 
the school deserves, in a kind spirit, a reprimand for restless- 
ness or disorder. On such occasions the superintendent needs 
the support of approving words. Let him not bear the brunt 
of the battle alone. 

Second : In the Church. An Aaron as well as a Hur 
was needed by Moses. Both arms ached and had to be up- 
held. So the superintendent's support should come from 
church as well as school, parents as well as teachers, and in 
several ways. 

Financial. We have known of churches that seemed to feel 
that the Sunday-school should be self-supporting, and of com- 
panies of teachers that allowed their superintendent to make 
all purchases of books, papers, maps, lesson lists, etc., and to 
pay for the same. A zealous finance committee to take all 
this responsibility from the superintendent's shoulders would 
give him strength to carry better the spiritual burdens. The 
current expenses should never devolve upon the teachers and 
officers of a school, but upon those in the church who do not 
contribute time, trouble, travel, study and prayer. Parents 
cheerfully pay day-school tax ; why not give for Sunday-school 
support ? 



OF SUNDAY-SCHOOLS. 183 

Pastoral. Not only from the membership but from the 
pastor of the church should the superintendent receive sup- 
port. His presence in the school, his greeting, inquiry and 
counsel are a wonderful help to an overburdened superin- 
tendent. 

Parental. Well may a superintendent feel discouraged 
when year after year goes by, and he constantly meets in social 
circles, or business walks of life, the parents of the children in 
his school, without ever hearing an inquiry, a suggestion, a 
helpful hint. I fear that parents little realize the power of 
tender sympathy, of vigilance, of frank intercourse on their 
part, as support to the Sunday leader of their boys and girls. 

If these homely truths may only reach many who are not 
doing their full portion towards sustaining their Sunday- 
school superintendent, and cause them to realize the fact that 
their support is needed, the mission of this article will be ac- 
complished. — The S. S. Times. 



The Superintendent and Pastor in the School. 



BY REV. L. H. SQUIRES. 

The pastor ought to be the general manager of the church 
institution, and is, therefore, the proper person to be the super- 
intendent of the Sunday-school. Ministers do not want to 
monopolize church work, but it is their duty to see that it is 
properly done. The pastor's work should begin with the child 
and in the Sunday-school. His should be the directing mind. 
Executive ability was one of the chief requisites. It has been 
said that a man who could successfully conduct a Sunday- 
school could lead an army. The superintendent should be a 
lover of children. The speaker did not think an unmarried 
man, if he had lived long enough to be married, could make 
a good teacher. The same rule did not apply so well to the 



184 ORGANIZATION AND MANAGEMENT 

ladies, for they generally loved children whether they were 
married or not. The superintendent should be a lover of the 
cause and interested in the general church work. The pastor, 
if not superintendent, should be in the school, free to go about 
and become personally acquainted with all the scholars. 
Many of the children drop out of the Sunday-school because 
the school is the children's church and the pastor does not 
touch their life, and they do not have any interest in him. He 
should be the connecting link between the school and the 
church. 

Politeness. 

The superintendent of a certain prosperous school was in the 
habit of treating even the youngest pupils with politeness and 
deference, as though he regarded them worthy of his best be- 
havior. It taught the boys and girls to be polite in return ; 
they came to feel ashamed to do anything unworthy a true 
gentleman or lady. The tone of that school became elevated, 
and all of its work was improved thereby. — Christian S. S. 
Teacher. 

Be Punctual. 

If the superintendent would have a prompt school he must 
be prompt himself. At the very moment appointed for the 
opening exercises, his finger must be on the call-bell, and he 
should be just as prompt in closing. " A time for everything, 
and everything at its time," must be his motto. — Christian S. 
S. Teacher. 

The Child in the Church. 

Indifference on the part of parents is one of the chief 
causes why children do not attend church service. About one- 
third of the parents of the children never go to church them- 
selves, while the other two-thirds make little effort to have 
their children go with them. Distances were very great in 
cities, and that was a reason why many young people did not 
attend divine service. The interest, as far as children were 



OF SUNDAY-SCHOOLS. 1 85 

concerned, centered in the Sunday-school, which with prizes, 
etc., all tended to draw children away from the church. If 
one-half the ingenuity was put into the work which was used 
by politicians, there would be no difficulty in filling the sanctu- 
ary with young people. The speaker said the services of the 
Sunday-school and of the church ought to be linked together, 
so that but one journey to the sanctuary would be necessary. 
Think, he said, of the old, cold churches and long ser- 
mons and the hymns and singing, all of which were 
enough to drive children away. But this was all 
changed now. The churches were made attractive and every 
inducement was offered to attend divine service. In looking 
back over his ministry he could see where he had made a mis- 
take. He went into the pulpit prepared to address adults and 
not the children in the pews, who were entitled to considera- 
tion. It was a mistake common to ministers. There should 
be in the sermon some utterance, some expression to catch 
the attention of childhood. In the home, the Sunday-school 
and the church should be talked about, and some of the spirit 
and enthusiasm of the parents will be given to the children. — 
Rev. C. H. Fay. 

Parental Example. 

Rev. Dr. Chapin of Meriden speaks the sentiments of many 
pastors beside himself in the following extract, which we take 
from his decennial sermon: 

It is an amazing thing to me that people who have children 
who ought to be in Sunday-school are not in Sunday-school 
sometimes themselves. It is an amazing thing to me that 
parents who want their children trained up in wholesome 
Christian ways should neglect the church themselves. 

Some people think they work too hard during the week to 
go even once to church on Sunday. But in nine cases out of 
ten that is sheer pretence, backed by acquired habit, to be 
sure. For those among the hardest workers in the week are 
surest of being at church when the Sunday comes. Some ladies 



l86 ORGANIZATION AND MANAGEMENT 

will say their husbands are not inclined to go. Then certainly 
the more imperative is the need that they should go, unless 
they are willing their children shall grow up into half-heathen 
ways, as they certainly will unless somebody takes more inter- 
est in them than they do themselves, and go to Sunday-school, 
and do for them what they ought to be willing to do for their 
own children. Oar Sunday-school certainly is, and has been, 
a power for good, notwithstanding the frequent derelictions in 
the parish in relation to it. 

And if, under such circumstances, so much has been done, 
what a mighty engine it might be made, if all who have reason 
to be interested in its work were ready to share the responsi- 
bility of its care and training and success. 

The Dead Bible Class. 

The class had not actually perished, nor was it buried out of 
sight. It had a sort of an existence — "a name to live." It 
met, or some of it, every Sunday afternoon. It had rather 
more existence than a nightmare, although the amount of 
vitality manifested by a nightmare is far in excess of anything 
that could be called vigor ever developed in the doings of this 
class. 

The principal recommendation of the teacher of this class 
was that he had been teaching it or a similar class for forty 
years. Being a lawyer by profession, he was supposed to have 
great ability in making a scientific analysis of a Bible lesson, 
and of presenting the truth in such a manner as to enable 
people to understand it with ease. But he omitted to bestow 
on his lessons the care in preparation which he would devote 
to the putting of a case into good shape for presentation to a 
jury. However forcible may have been his pleading in court, 
he brought to his students all the dullness he had, and gave 
them his mental leavings in so soporific a style that, had not 
the benches furnished the class been stiff and unyielding, each 






OF SUNDAY-SCHOOLS. 187 

student would have been "at ease in Zion " in slumberous 
repose. 

This excellent person gave evidence of great regularity in 
his habits of preparation. Every Sunday afternoon, imme- 
diately on rising from the dinner table, he would go to the 
room by courtesy called his "study," to study the lesson. 
Dinner finished about one o'clock. Class began at two, and 
the walk from home to church took nearly half an hour. He 
had a commentary, one of the oldest, heaviest and dullest in 
the market. His father had left it to him, and it was prized 
as a gift of paternal affection and a monument of the study 
in which the old gentleman used to indulge. As for the new- 
fangled commentaries, the modern improvements and helps 
and lesson papers and all such novelties, our teacher scorned 
them as varieties of a vexatious and worldly spirit of invention, 
devised only for money-making and for calling off the atten- 
tion of young people from serious things. As for him, give 
him his old commentary or give him death. It gave his class 
death. Not that there was in the old commentary itself any- 
thing noxious or fatal. It was in his way of using it. He 
seemed to ascribe to it a magic power of imparting the lesson 
to him. He pored over it for ten or fifteen minutes, then 
closed it reverently, laid it aside and marched forth to teach. 

Need it be said that this good man bored his class more 
than he instructed them ? Need it be added that the class 
gradually dwindled to a skeleton? Or need the hint be given 
that the students, most of whom were growing up to mature 
life, found it more profitable to stay away than to spend their 
time in listening to his pointless harangues? 

The class and the teacher plodded on, and on, and on. 
The whole concern became about as dead as Lazarus was after 
he had lain four days in the grave. But a resurrection came 
to the dead Lazarus. And perhaps there is such an experience 
in store for this moribund Bible class. If the teacher will 
wake up enough to do some really solid studying, or if the 



155 ORGANIZATION AND MANAGEMENT 

class will wake up enough to throw him overboard and get 
another teacher, there is hope; there may be life, and, with 
life, light and vigor. — S. S. Journal. 

Not Worth Raising. 

A man often deserves more credit for holding on to a 
dwindling school, or a scanty teachers' meeting, or a thinning 
class, than if he held on where things moved briskly and 
numbers were at their highest. Any worker in a live Sab- 
bath-school, or in a dead-and-alive one, ought to do his best 
to secure an improvement in his charge ; but the poorer the 
condition of the school the greater the need, and hence the 
possible value of his work. It is a shame for a Sabbath- 
school worker to close a school, to suspend a teachers' meet- 
ing, or to give up a class, en the ground of its sickliness. 
The writer once visited a [poverty-stricken home, where 
he saw an emaciated little child lying in evident neglect on 
an uncleanly bed. Asking the mother if a physician had seen 
that child, he learned that nothing was being done for the 
little one. "And why not?" he inquired. " Ah ! it's a sickly 
one. It's not worth the raising," was the cool-blooded re- 
sponse. That mother didn't propose to waste her strength 
on a dead-and-alive little one. And she was of much the 
same spirit as a Sabbath-school worker who abandoned his 
charge because of its sickliness. — S. S. Times. 

Encourage the Children in Church-Going. 

Keep a record of all the Sunday-school youth who attend 
the services of the church and Sabbath -school and make a 
monthly report of this record to the school, and thus encour- 
age church-going among the members. 

w. f. c. 

Visit Other Schools. 
Officers and teachers will find it profitable to occasionally 



OF SUNDAY-SCHOOLS. 1 89 

spend an hour in visiting other schools to see and report what 
is done there and what they have learned by such visit. 

w. f. c. 

Example. 

Do not forget that it is what you are which will make your 
instructions effective. You may teach purity, faith, honesty, 
but unless you illustrate these in your life, it will be like a 
splendid beam of light trying to shine through a piece of 
dingy glass. It is the clear crystal that transmits the light 
readily and attracts all. Scholars appreciate that, and they 
notice the dingy spots on the glass also, and they may look 
on these rather than the light. It was Joshua's resolution 
to "serve the Lord with his house" that influenced Israel in 
the right choice. — Christian S. S. Teacher. 

Care for All. 

Shepherd look carefully after the older and feebler mem- 
bers of the flock, and see that they have kind and tender 
treatment and food suited to their age and infirmities. Keep 
a watchful eye on the more active members, giving each some- 
thing to do ; and do not forget the precious lambs, remem- 
bering that they cannot live and grow on dry, musty hay, 
straw or stubble. Provide fresh, nutritious, spiritual food for 
them, and place it low down in the rack. — Christian S. S, 
Teacher. 



The Outcry Against the Sunday-School. 



BY REV. E. A. PERRY. 

From men of high standing in the church and of wide ex- 
perience come words not only of criticism of Sunday-schools 
and their methods but also of opposition to them as institu- 
tions of the church. These criticisms merit the attention of 
the friends of the Sunday-school. Some of these critics and 



190 



ORGANIZATION AND MANAGEMENT 



opponents take their position, doubtless, because of a lack of 
success on their own part to make the Sunday-school what it 
ought to be. In other words, a sense of failure biases their 
judgment. Is not the question of the value of the Sunday- 
school worthy of a fuller discussion than it has yet received ? 
It has seemed so to the writer ; and the following is an attempt 
to lead the way to such discussion : 

Let me state as definitely as possible some of the complaints 
urged against the Sunday-school of to-day. It is said that it 
assumes to take the religious training of the child out of the 
hands of the parents and put it into the hands of the Sunday- 
school teacher. This is an unjust criticism. It assumes noth- 
ing of the kind. It seeks rather to supplement home instruc- 
tion in matters religious. It takes, or aims to take, the child 
who has no home training in these matters and give him at 
least a little. 

A distinguished educator of youth, and himself a clergyman, 
recently said to me that the Sunday-school, with other modern 
institutions, the outgrowth of the church, was sapping the life 
of the church. I did not ask him to explain his statement, 
but presume his feeling is the same as that of others who 
express themselves more fully. Their position is somewhat to 
this effect : The Sunday-school should be an adjunct and aid 
to the church ; should train and lead the young forward to 
membership and active interest in the church. Instead of 
this, it is asserted that the Sunday-school leads not only a 
separate existence but lives for itself alone. These same 
critics would also say that for education in things religious and 
devotional the church service is superior to the Sunday-school • 
hence if the child can attend but one, the Sunday-school 
should not be the one. They often go further and assert that 
attendance at the Sunday-school creates a distaste for the 
regular Sunday preaching services. Certain it is, whether this 
be the reason or not, the members of the Sunday-school are 
not the most regular attendants at the preaching service. I 



OF SUNDAY-SCHOOLS. 191 

have suspected that the reason for this is in part to be found 
in the preaching service itself. It is not always adapted to 
meet the wants of the young. It does not nourish the souls 
of the little ones. 

Evidently, if these charges in their unmitigated form are 
true, one of two things must be done: a cure must be found 
and that right speedily, or if the disease is incurable, the Sun- 
day-school must be abolished. The questions then before the 
church to-day are these : Are these charges true ? If true, 
whose the fault and what the cure ? 

No judicious friend of the school believes it a perfect insti- 
tution. Its methods can be improved, its results be made 
more worthy of its opportunities. Too often the instruction 
is not what it should be. Sometimes it lives for the spectacu- 
lar, not the religious. Occasionally it lives its own life and 
does its own work independent of the church, and in rare 
instances there is a semi-hostile feeling between the two. 

Having admitted this much, the question recurs, Who is to 
blame for this condition wherever it exists ? Am I not cor- 
rect in the statement that the blame more often rests justly 
upon the church and its pastor ? If the Sunday-school is to 
be an aid to the church, why so seldom are church members 
found in it as the controllers of its methods and work ? I 
venture the assertion that in every case in which the church 
and its pastor take a working interest in the Sunday-school, 
good results for the church are achieved. As a friend of the 
Sunday-school, I assert that the responsibilities for whatever 
failures there be rest primarily upon the church. Let it cor- 
rect its own attitude and make it one of work and not, as now, 
of fault-finding. 

Let me also say as a friend of the Sunday-school that I am 
rejoiced that there is criticism of this institution. Dissatisfac- 
tion is always both a proof and promise of progress. Let 
every possible criticism, whose basis is at all just, be urged 
against the methods of the Sunday-school. The workers in 



I92 ORGANIZATION AND MANAGEMENT 

this branch of our Zion are ready to receive advice, admoni- 
tion, instruction, from any source whatever. Let critics be 
careful, however, lest their charges be boomerangs in their 
unskilled hands. 

But the defects in our Sunday-schools are, in my judgment, 
exaggerated. Could we for a generation abolish them, the 
work they are now doing would be evident. They do their 
work with a fair degree of success. They have paid largely 
for all the time and energy spent upon them. They afford an 
opportunity for instruction in things doctrinal, moral and 
devotional — the only opportunity that comes in the path of 
some children. 

It is true, also, as is well known to many, that in our par- 
ishes to-day are leading and influential members who came to 
us through the Sunday-school, who were first interested in us, 
our truths and our work, in the very Sunday-school now so 
sharply assailed. How much we owe to our Sunday-schools 
will never be known. 

I plead then for a more kindly criticism than comes from 
some quarters; for a more appreciative estimate of the work of 
this institution ; for a more hopeful expectation of its future, 
and especially for a more helpful attitude toward it. 

Prizes May Be Useful. 

We must have children in order to have a school. If 
prizes would secure attendance, then give prizes. Each con- 
cert can be made to teach one beautiful lesson, or concerts 
can be made mere fosterers of vanity by exhibiting gayly- 
dressed children. President Gibbs said, "Appeal to the best 
in the child ; teach him not that he has, but that he is a soul. 
Try to show them how much greater and more beautiful what 
they are — the spiritual — is, than what they have externally — 
the secular — is.*' — Mrs. Decker. 









of sunday-schools. 1 93 

Parents — Where Are Your Boys ? 



BY REV. T. B. THAYER, D. D. 

The parental relation is one which involves the most im- 
portant and solemn responsibilities a human being can assume. 
There is no case so weighty, no duty so full of anxiety and 
painful thought, when fully appreciated, as that of watching 
over and directing the physical, moral and mental growth of 
a child. Day by day, year by year, to see the bud filling out, 
opening and expanding into leaf and flower, and the young 
promise of abundant fruit ; day by day to bend over it, mark 
its increase, shelter it from the too great heat of the sun, or 
the violence of the storm ; to protect it from the destroying 
worm or the plundering bird or the vagrant thief; to train the 
tender branches and prop them up when it is necessary ; to feel 
that the beauty of the young plant arid the quality and 
quantity of its fruit depend almost wholly on the kind and 
degree of culture and care which you bestow upon it — this is 
indeed a responsibility whose pressure on the conscientious 
and faithful parent can scarcely be overestimated, or its 
solemnity too deeply felt. 

I fear, however, there are very many parents who are far 
enough from realizing this, and who give small heed to the 
claims which their children have upon them for moral and 
spiritual culture, for the formation of character and for the 
guidance of their passions and affections. 

The history of Juvenile vagrancy, the crowds of neglected 
children, the thousands of young drunkards and gamblers, 
thieves and incendiaries, and the mournful records of our 
criminal courts and penitentiaries, all reveal the fact that there 
are multitudes of unfaithful and reckless parents, not among 
the lowest classes alone, but also among the higher and middle 
classes. 

It is a sickening and terrible history, this of Juvenile de- 
pravity, this which shows us children neglected and abandoned 



194 ORGANIZATION AND MANAGEMENT 

as soon as they are able to walk, and left to fight their way 
through the world, at this tender age, as best they may with 
begging and stealing. It is a fearful thing to look in upon the 
dens of infamy where these young creatures congregate, with 
features hideously old, wrinkled, shriveled and blotched with 
exposure and hunger and disease, looking as if they had lived 
fifty years of sin and depravity in fifteen. 

And these results are not only possible but probable, and 
almost certain, to some extent, where that solicitous watch- 
care and patient training and religious teaching are cast 
aside, by which alone the feet of youth can be guided into the 
pleasant and peaceful paths of virtue and usefulness. 

It is not possible, it seems to me, for parents in a city to ex- 
ercise too constant or too close a supervision, if it be judicious 
and kind, over young lads of from ten to sixteen years. It is 
the most perilous time of life, the most decisive in the forma- 
tion of character and habits and tendencies, and the most 
important in its influences for good or for evil in the life of the 
future man. What impressions are made on the mind and 
heart of the boy in these years will be likely to remain and 
grow with his growth, and give direction to his pursuits and 
destinies. What thoughts he gets of religion and moral 
obligation and personal purity and virtue will very likely take 
root and spring up into action, and in due time bring forth 
their harvest. 

From fourteen to eighteen the boy is passing into the man, 
the flower into the fruit. The character is forming in secret, 
slowly, unconsciously, as the coral insect builds under the sea. 
The material is soft and pliable, and receives any impression 
put upon it. It is molded by any and all influences with 
which it comes in contact. It is of the last moment, there- 
fore, that these influences should be of the right kind, for it 
is hardening as the years pass, and it will be no easy thing by 
and by to erase the image once stamped upon it. The mind 
and heart, now open to any hand which may seek to shape 



OF SUNDAY-SCHOOLS. 1 95 

and direct them, will ere long get rigid and set, and retain 
through life the form and bent which they are taking at this 
age. 

Parents are apt to think lightly of the words and sentiments 
and acts of the boy, saying carelessly, "He will feel and think 
differently when he comes to be a man — his mind is not 
trained yet, nor his character formed." Yes, my friend, but 
his character is forming, and will soon be beyond your reach. 
If you, by your instructions, your care and solicitous affection, 
are not forming it, somebody or something else is. Formed 
somehow for good or evil it will be — that is the necessity of 
growth. It will not stand till he is a man, and then choose for 
itself what it will be. The fruit is determined by the character 
of the seed sown. " The boy is father of the man." 

Of what supreme importance then that the boy should be 
kept away from evil influences, from bad company and corrupt 
associations; that the parent should watch over his habits, 
teach him the control of his passions, unfold his moral sense, 
establish his religious principles, regulate his pursuits and 
amusements and see how and where he spends his time, 
especially his evenings and his Sundays, and who are his com- 
panions. 

It is a matter of great consequence to his future safety and 
usefulness, whether he is in school or in the street; whether he 
attends church and Sunday-school, or is drifting about town ; 
whether he is familiar with places of evil resort, taverns, cellars, 
theatres, bowling saloons, dancing halls, etc., and on easy 
terms with young vagrants and all the idle rabble congregated 
in such places. 

The street, by day or by night, is a bad place for a boy to 
frequent without the protecting company of the parent. A 
boy will learn more evil in the street in one evening than you 
can unlearn him in a year. In this school he will master his 
lessons very quickly and make alarming proficiency, for he is 



I96 ORGANIZATION AND MANAGEMENT 

sure of the help and example of older scholars and those 
more advanced in evil. 



Present Needs. 



BY REV. R. A. GREENE. 

First, Sunday-school work is free work. It is not hired 
work. Superintendents, teachers and other officers are 
volunteers in the service, and scholars, for the most part, 
I believe, are permitted to exercise their own will as to 
attendance. And the plea is that you cannot expect great 
fruits from this Sunday-school. It is very evident we 
do not feel under the same obligations where we are vol- 
unteers to give our labor that we do where we are hired 
and paid a stated sum for stated services. It is quite 
plain, too, that not many of us feel that we ought to realize 
the same obligation, under the former conditions. The 
question resolves itself to this : I am under obligations to 
do what I am hired and paid money to do ; that I must do. 
What I do for love, for no temporal reward or remunera- 
tion, what I do for my fellow-men and women voluntarily, 
because I simply choose to and am willing to help things 
along, this that I do is a variable quantity, the amount of 
it at various times to be decided according to circum- 
stances. If it is convenient to do a great deal to-day, I 
will do it. If it is rather inconvenient to-morrow, why I 
can drop the whole of it. 

The work that means a stated sum of money, the work 
that I contract to do, I will do, must do. The work that 
means casting bread upon the waters, I may do or not, just 
as circumstances indicate. Now I am going to say, 
whether you have any sympathy with me or not in the idea, 
I am going to say that there is nothing under the sun to 
which our obligations are greater than in the work of love, 
this free gift of one's powers, such as they are, this volunteer 
service, this work that is done to carry on the Sunday- 



OF SUNDAY-SCHOOLS. 1 97 

school. Legally a man may withhold the bread that love 
would cast upon the waters ; morally he may not — morally 
he is bound by Heaven's laws to fulfill all the obligations 
that love's service can imply. In one sense it is a fine and 
beautiful sight to see a faithful body of Sunday-school 
workers at their task. It proves to us that there is some 
loving work done, that there are men and women willing to 
do work they are not hired to do, for which there is no 
money consideration. 

In another sense, it is the simple exhibition of that spirit 
and that labor that as Christians we are under profound obli- 
gations to manifest and perform, under as binding obliga- 
tions to do as we are to do the work we are hired and paid 
money to do. Sunday-school workers are supposed to be 
Christians, and I feel free to say that the thought of their 
work as something they may be faithful to or not, some- 
thing they may neglect or not, as the time or the mood or 
the circumstance indicates, because it is a volunteer work, 
a free service, a labor of love, ought never to enter their 
heads. Because it is volunteer service, free service, a 
service of love, it is not therefore a work you may be 
faithful to or not, neglect or not, as the circumstance of the 
moment may decide. As a rule, you find a way to do what 
you are paid money to do. You can and ought to find a 
way to do what these obligations of love require just as 
faithfully. An excuse that would not keep you from your 
week-day work ought never to keep you from your 
Sunday-school work. The strength and will and sense of 
duty that would send you to your Monday's work ought to 
be sufficient to send you to your Sunday-school work. If 
you can go to your day school, to the shop, to the place of 
public entertainment, to the social visit, or any other place, 
when it storms, or when certain sacrifices are demanded, 
you can and ought, by all means, to go to Sunday-school 
under such circumstances. 



igS ORGANIZATION AND MANAGEMENT 

I emphasize this need of a .deeper sense of duty to the 
Sunday-school and more conscience in its discharge. I tell 
you there is almost everything in this thought of obligation 
to the service and work of love. Ask my brother 
ministers who are present to-day how large a part of this 
work is work for which they are paid no money ; work they 
have never contracted or stipulated to do in any business 
sense ; work they freely and voluntarily perform ; and ask 
them how much joy and happiness came from that service. 
I think I speak for them all when I say that fully more than 
one-half their work is of this kind and that it is the best 
half and most satisfactory half of their work. There is no 
getting around it or out of it, that you are under the 
highest moral obligations to faithfully and conscientiously 
do all the Sunday-school work you can. 

We have some of this feeling or sense in us, but not 
enough. The Sunday-school I have in mind needs this 
devotionand consecration on the part of allitsworkers. And 
I think we need this far more in the use and application of 
the helps and opportunities we have at hand, than we need 
more helps and more opportunities. 

We need other things. We need more qualification for 
our work. Now let no Sunday-school worker feel that I am 
about to criticise harshly or unkindly find fault. I am only 
going to say what you would say yourselves and I doubt not 
have said it over and over again, and I simply beg of you 
to let me tell the truth about you just as you have done 
yourselves, and I will change the pronoun and say we 
instead of you. We need' better qualification for our Sun- 
day-school work. The Sunday-school I have in mind 
needs this. The Sunday-school which I think you may 
all recognize as your own needs this. We pay too little 
attention to preparation. We think that for this volunteer 
service, this service and labor of love for which nobody 
pays us, for which nobody holds us responsible, which we 



OF SUNDAY-SCHOOLS. 1 99 

can do or refrain from doing, can be done in about such 
manner as we choose. It is nobody's business. If I am 
willing to give any services, nobody has any right to criti- 
cise them. That is a mistake, a fatal mistake \ if we really 
want to render a service, such as may be called a service, 
it is somebody's business. 

If the work in this Sunday-school is worth doing at all, 
it is worth doing in just the best manner possible. If our 
services are worth giving at all, they are worth giving in 
the way that will produce the largest and best results. It 
is, in my opinion, a direct insult to give our services and 
not give them to the full extent of what they are capable 
of producing. Do the best we can. Use all the helps 
there are that will make our service of the highest value. 
It seems to me that the nature and character of giving 
imply that the best and the most we can give shall go 
with, or be in the gift itself. I am afraid we are lament- 
ably ignorant sometimes of the things we are expected to 
teach in the Sunday-school, for teaching is a prominent part 
of Sunday-school work. I am afraid we go before our classes 
sometimes, without knowing what we are goingto teach them. 
We need to know so?nething about the lesson. Perhaps we do 
not need to know all there is in the lesson. That would 
be a difficult achievement for the best and wisest of us. 
But we each need to know all that each of us can know. 
We want or ought to be familiar with the Scripture and 
the context. 

I do not, of course, mean that we must have the critical 
knowledge of the exegete or the expositor. Learned inter- 
pretation and scholarly comment are not expected or de- 
manded in the Sunday-school worker. I mean that we 
are to read and re-read the Scripture in the lesson, study 
it carefully and use what helps we can get, in connection 
with our own knowledge and judgment, to get the mean- 
ing and idea of the Scripture. The lesson will always 



200 ORGANIZATION AND MANAGEMENT OF SUNDAY-SCHOOLS. 

have special points of importance. We want to know 
what they are and be able to tell our scholars what 
they are. The Sunday-school lesson should mean 
work. The teaching of it should mean work. We have 
no business to go into the Sunday-school and sit with our 
classes through the time as though it was a time for play 
or idle conversation. It is an hour for labor, and if we 
know what we are laboring for or about, great good is 
bound to come out of it, and not otherwise. 



CHAPTER XVII 



State and Local Work. 

The following papers, though having special reference to the 
work in Ohio, deserve to be recorded in a permanent form 
and be read and re-read by all our people of every state until 
we learn the lessons of cooperation and continuity of work 
which they so pleadingly seek to enforce. 



The Circuit System. 



BY REV. C. P. NASH. 

The weakness of so many of our churches in the West, of 
the great majority of them, necessitates combination of effort, 
if many of them are not left to die. We have in Ohio but 
five churches employing the entire time of their pastors, and 
one of them is now pastorless. The work of our church has 
long, indeed always, been carried on mainly by combination — 
division of the minister's time. But in making arrangements 
for this work, every minister and every church has been inde- 
pendent of every other minister and church. This has led to 
the engagement of ministers with churches at long distances 
from each other, so distant that there could be no special 
sympathy or cooperation between them, the minister spend- 
ing a good share of his salary in traveling expenses, being 
obliged to tax his churches more heavily than otherwise he 
would, in order to meet such expenses, or, as in many cases, 



202 STATE AND LOCAL WORK. 

such expenses reducing his own compensation to a very 
meagre stipend; while, in many instances, a neighboring 
church, the natural ally of the church in mind, has been 
served by some other minister, who in turn, mayhap, has also 
traveled a long distance for that purpose. The Universalist 
churches of Ohio, and, indeed, of the whole country, have 
done well by the railroads, albeit said roads have usually 
carried their ministers for them at half the usual fare. This 
system, while a seeming necessity, has been operated under 
these and other serious disadvantages. This has led many 
to consider and advocate the advantages of the combination 
of contiguous churches, popularly known as the circuit system, 
which, in many instances, has been adopted with excellent 
effect. That, if generally adopted, it would be a great im- 
provement upon the old system of independent action and 
scattered service, there can be no doubt. So evident has this 
seemed that most of our State Conventions have given their 
sanction to the system, in several instances, charging the 
State Superintendent of churches with the duty of organizing 
the circuits. It is to be lamented that two serious impedi- 
ments hinder the success of this undertaking : i. The lack 
of loyalty to the system on the part of ministers. 2. The 
lack of loyalty to it on the part of the churches interested. 
Our ministers have so long been in the habit of negotiating 
their services with any church desiring them, and our 
churches have been so long in the habit of hiring any minister 
whose services they desired, that both are slow in learning to 
say, " No, I cannot engage with you, it would break up your 
circuit;" or, " No, we cannot hire you, unless you also engage 
with the other churches of our circuit." And yet it is needed 
but to call attention to this state of things for both ministers 
and people to readily see that, if the circuit system is ever to 
attain to any degree of efficiency among us, we must unitedly 
come to that standard of action. If the circuit system is 
worth anything to our church, we must all be ready to make 



STATE AND LOCAL WORK. 203 

whatever necessary sacrifices required in its maintenance. 
We must not only advocate it on the floor of the State Con- 
vention, whether minister or delegate, but we must advocate 
and practice it all the year round, even if opportunity does 
present itself of a favorable engagement, on the part of either 
church or minister. 



The State Superintendent. 



BY REV. C. E. NASH. 

The "Permanent Fund," whose claims are so loudly and 
so justly lauded in these columns, results primarily in the 
employment of an agent who bears the above official title. 
Other channels for the fund are, indeed, embraced in the 
missionary conception, which can be opened only when the 
resources are larger. At present the income is scarcely suf- 
ficient from all sources to keep the superintendent in the 
field; other schemes must, therefore, be for a time in abey- 
ance. But the superintendent we must have; all else in the 
way of general work must be sacrificed in order to maintain 
him at his post. So say the " powers that be," the Executive 
Committee, with entire accord. What is the reason for this 
emphasis ? Why is the superintendent so indispensable ? 

The answer to this question, in the minds of our leaders, 
does not amount, we may be sure, to any idle sentiment, to 
any zeal for mere organization, to any lust for authority on 
one hand, or for " imitation of orthodoxy " on the other. 
These are long-headed men, practical men, who advocate 
only measures of approved utility, and for the sake of their 
utility. These are not the days for creating new popes ; and 
the Universalist Church will be one of the latest to budge an 
inch from its original Protestantism in that regard. We have 
not lost faith in liberty, in the independent judgment and 
voluntary service of Christians ; and the idea of the State 
Superintendency arises from no desire to institute a dictatorial 



204 STATE AND LOCAL WORK. 

policy in Ohio, whereby the free loyalty of our people may 
be coerced into mere blind acquiescence. If the superin- 
tendent is not set up to be dictator, no more is he, on the 
other hand, offered as a dole of charity to the indigent. . It 
is not intended that he shall go about instituting free meet- 
ings for the relief of those who do not care to burden them- 
selves with the support of a pastor. He is to be a servant 
of the church, rather than its director ; but his labors will 
be supplementary, not substitutional; nay, it is fondly be- 
lieved that he will be able to stimulate the separate parishes 
to doing more than ever for themselves and something also 
for the common enterprise, instead of encouraging them to 
get used to assistance and to settle down into a state of con- 
tented dependence. 

The Work of the Superintendent. 

What, then, is expected of this our agent ? and why is the 
demand for his services so insistent ? Will the questioner 
kindly lift his eyes above his local horizon and contemplate 
the field of our denominational endeavors at large? This 
gospel of universal salvation which we have " received 
of the fathers," and through them from the Father, does 
not permit us to confine our solicitude to our own affairs, 
but obliges us to see in every man a brother, whatever 
his lot, wherever his residence. It is our business to 
preach to those who have not heard of this inspiring faith. 
And since this is the business of all, we cannot but be anx- 
ious that every voice should be in tune, every pulpit active, 
every parish aggressive. Further, it must be our ambition, 
under the same motives, to establish pulpits in the centres 
of population, to reach the ears that now have no opportunity 
of hearing our proclamation, and thus to inoculate the com- 
munities with the saving influence of our doctrines. 

Holding this purpose clearly in mind, look abroad and com- 
pare with its scheme for the world's evangelization the actual 



STATE AND LOCAL WORK. 205 

facts in our situation. First, the forces already under arms 
are not trained to their full capacity ; they lack unity of 
purpose, coherence, largeness of aim. Too many limit, their 
calculations to the local parish ; it is not always easy to bring 
neighboring parishes into active sympathy. The clergy, too, work 
sometimes at cross purposes. They carry on a kind of guerrilla 
warfare, rather than advance by system in a definite and well- 
planned campaign all along the line. Observe, we do not 
make these statements in a complaining spirit ; the fault lies 
not so much with preachers or parishes, considered singly, as 
with our chaotic habit — our lack of system, and, what is still 
more to the point, the absence hitherto of any adequate 
means for inculcating and building up a system. The primary 
problem, therefore, is that of consolidating, unifying our present 
numbers, and of inspiring them to undertake together the 
enterprise of church extension. 

Our Opportunities. 

In the second place, take note of the noble opportunities 
for church enlargement afforded us in Ohio. From how 
many quarters comes the Macedonian cry, "Come over and 
help us ! " Of our largest cities, Cleveland, Dayton, Toledo 
are wholly unoccupied ; of the cities of the next grade, 
Springfield and Hamilton are making an effort to live, with 
hopeful outlook, while Youngstown, Canton, Zanesville, 
Steubenville, etc., are wholly uncared for by our ministration. 
And the commonwealth is full of smaller cities and towns, 
growing rapidly and promising importance in the near future, 
which yet we have not visited. The inevitable tendency of 
population in these times is to aggregate itself in the cities, 
and there the great battles of the next age, between truth and 
error, virtue and vice, must be fought out. At every salient 
point we should plant our standard, selecting first those that 
bid fair to become promptly self-supporting and contributors 
at no distant date to the common campaign. 



206 STATE AND LOCAL WORK. 

Is not this picture, scantily drawn as it is, a call to 
action ? Does it not indicate a vast field of possibilities ? 
But how to meet the situation, how to increase our fighting 
force, how to get the battle for conquest in actual motion, 
that is the question ! The answer of the Executive Commit- 
tee, nay, of the Convention itself, which has fully and heartily 
endorsed the Committee's programme, is this : A State Super- 
intendent. He is not, indeed, proposed as a magical solution 
of the problems that beset us ; no miracles are expected of 
him. Nor will he be able to lift the whole load on his own 
unaided shoulders. What then is his function ? This : to be 

An Organizer and Leader. 

It is for him to counsel pastorless parishes in their own 
affairs, and to secure their contributions to the general cam- 
paign fund. He may direct them to a suitable pastor and the 
unemployed pastor to them. He may effect their union in 
circuits, thus husbanding their strength and securing them 
better and more continuous services. In a word, he will con- 
stitute their medium of inter-communication, a factor hitherto 
wanting. In him they will have a sort of mutual understand- 
ing ; in him will assume relations of friendliness and mutual 
support ; in him will begin to work together for common ends, 
instead of singly and at variance. In union is strength ; and 
the State Superintendent is the most available means of union. 

Further, the State Superintendent is our voice to be lifted 
up in the wilderness, where our doctrines have heretofore been 
unheralded. The pastor finds full employment for his time in 
looking after the multitudinous interests of his charge. It is 
only in weak and desultory ways that he can hope to open up 
new territory. But the superintendent can plan his entrance 
upon those fields, and devote such time to it as may be needful. 
And there he may temporarily localize himself, remaining 
until the movement has gained strength to go alone and he 
has established at its head some competent pastor to carry it 



STATE AND LOCAL WORK. 207 

forward to complete success. Then he may betake himself 
to other frontiers and repeat the process. Meanwhile, the 
new parishes thus formed by our common labor will become 
new fountains of life to our cause, increasing our enthusiasm 
as numbers multiply and results are won, and enriching the 
treasury by their grateful donations to the line of effort which 
has brought them into being. 

The work to be done is no day-dream ; the only regret is 
that one superintendent cannot possibly cover the whole 
realm of need. But he can do what he can; and his efforts 
will hasten the day when other co-laborers may divide the en- 
terprise with him and enhance the harvest. To conclude: 
the State Superintendency is the dictate of simple business 
sagacity. For the same reason that we want in our cities a 
Superintendent of Schools to give general direction and 
oversight; for the same reason that an organized army under 
one commander is stronger than a mob or than an equal num- 
ber of courageous men acting without concert; for these rea- 
sons, on these fundamental principles, a State Superintendent 
is essential to our progress in Ohio. 

The details of the superintendent's work are many ; he 
can accomplish only a fraction of them all. He will raise 
what money he can to add to the Permanent Fund, and will 
do his best to cement our parishes into relations of fraternity 
and union. Already his efforts have borne visible fruit in both 
directions. What he needs, what he has a right to expect at 
our hands, is the cordial sympathy of all the brethren in his 
difficult task. Thus strengthened and encouraged, our cause 
cannot fail to prosper in his hands. 



The State Superintendency. 



ITS MISSIONARY AND EXECUTIVE PHASES. 

Those who have given serious thought to the subject of 
missionary work, not only in planting new but in nourishing 



208 STATE AND LOCAL WORK. 

and keeping alive old fields of labor, concede it to be one of 
the most potent and necessary agencies in the spreading of 
Christianity of the Universalist type. 

To most effectively prosecute missionary work, our preach- 
ers and professing believers must act in harmony on a well- 
defined plan. This plan must not only carry with it that 
which will commend it to enlightened judgments and quick- 
ened consciences, but it must also necessarily possess, to a 
persuasive degree, the hint of authority. 

To capture and control the intense democratic feeling of 
individual sovereignty, which is naturally peculiar to both 
preachers and people of our faith, and so mold and fashion it 
into serviceable utility — to change it from an element of 
weakness into an element of strength, when combined effort 
is desired — has been an unsolved problem in our past experi- 
ence. If this desired object is ever accomplished, it will be 
through the State Superintendency by an incumbent whose 
Christian spirit, genius and commanding executive ability will 
win allegiance and overcome all obstacles. 

In no other way, by no other methods, can the raveled and 
broken threads of our cause, represented by idle but willing 
hands and hearts, scattered broadcast over our State, be 
gathered up and rewoven into a cord of sufficient strength to 
move the whole earth. 

Until this is done by some master hand, the prophetic 
genius of Universalism will fail of complete fulfillment. What 
is needed is organization, method, with a common, fixed and 
worthy purpose to be accomplished by work, in which all can 
and must be unselfishly engaged, with an inspiration and 
energy that permits no flagging, and which treats with scorn 
the suggestion of failure. 

Let us begin at home. In Ohio we have many fertile but 
at present uncultivated fields. 

Look abroad. What is discovered ? Pastor less churches 



STATE AND LOCAL WORK. 2O0 

on every hand and general apathy a?nong professed Universal- 
ists in many sections of the State. 

Our honored pioneer preachers have dissipated the black 
cloud of fear as to the eternity of punishment to an extent 
that little remains of it in our day, anywhere, to cast its bale- 
ful shadow over the lives of men. 

This has been done by the power of argument in opposition 
to other systems, and while a necessary step, it has in too 
many instances only resulted in breaking up the fallow ground 
and preparing the soil for the indigenous seeds of anti-ortho- 
doxy to take root. 

While this class may possibly be greatly benefited as the 
subjects of missionary labors, yet the hope of the future of the 
Universalist Church rests with its willing workers, its youth 
and its children. 

They must be trained to imbibe higher and broader conceptions 
and comprehension of the progressive truths of Universalism 
and the responsibilities they impose. 

They must be graduated out of the " high school " of mis- 
sionary workers, with their diplomas inscribed with the 
device that " a life is a failure in the degree that it comes 
short of contributing its best endeavors to the dissemination 
of the sublime truths of Christianity of the Universalist type." 

The Superintendency involves other inherent duties and 
responsibilities of great weight and importance, but the mis- 
sionary phase of its mission outweighs them all. — Selected. 



CHAPTER XVIII 



What Think Ye of Christ. 



BY REV. E. L. CONGER. (PASADENA, CAL.) 

The place given to Christ in history has ranged from man 
to God. There has been great speculation concerning His 
nature and character. It is a question of great importance. 
If Christ is God, we ought to know it and treat Him as such. 
If He is a man, "tempted in all points as we are, yet without 
sin," and therefore an example for us to follow in all things, 
we ought to study His example and walk in His footsteps. 
But if we enthrone Him as a God and make Him an infinite 
sacrifice to pay our penalty and save us from eternal doom, 
it is of the first importance that we know it and accept Him 
and His atoning blood instead of trying to follow an example 
which is no example. 

11 What think ye of Christ? " Let us call a number of wit- 
nesses, (i.) What answer does God Himself make? When 
Jesus was baptized of John and came up out of the water, 
the Heavens seemed to open and the spirit of God descended 
upon Him, and a voice from Heaven said, " This is my beloved 
Son, in whom I am well pleased." This ought to be final, 
and I might leave the subject here if men's speculations and 
creeds had not perverted the Gospel and taught that Christ 
was God — a third partner in the Trinity. The Father never 
called Him God ; it was always His Son whom He sent into 



WHAT THINK YE OF CHRIST? 211 

the world to do His will. Can the one sent and the one send- 
ing be the same ? 

(2.) Jesus ought to be a good witness in this case. He 
always called God His Father, and recognized Himself as 
subject to Him. He says: "I came not to do mine own 
will but the will of Him that sent me. Of myself I can do 
nothing. Why callest thou me good ? There is none good but 
God." Whenever He prays He says : " My Father," " Our 
Father." If He was God, He prayed to Himself. If He was 
equal to the Father, then the Father might as well pray to 
Him. The infinite Father never prays. Jesus was often 
in prayer. Why should an equal pray to an equal ? But 
Jesus in all the records never claimed to be equal to the 
Father ; His testimony always and everywhere is that He is 
subordinate: " I am come to do the will of my Father which is 
in Heaven." "I go to my Father." "I came from God; 
neither came I of myself, but He sent me." " The Son can do 
nothing of Himself but what he seeth the Father do." " My 
doctrine is not mine, but His that sent me." " As my Father 
taught me I speak these things." When Jesus says, " My 
God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me," is He talking to 
Himself or His equal ? If He was a God or equal to God, 
then His words are grossly deceiving. 

True He says, " I and my Father are one," but He tells us 
it is the same union that He seeks with the disciples — " That 
they (the disciples) may be one as thou art in me and I in 
thee, that there also may be one with us." When Jesus asks 
God to give Him the glory He " had with the Father before 
the world was," He does not say what that glory was nor im- 
ply that it was equal with the Father. He asks for it as a 
subordinate would ask of a superior, as a child would ask of a 
father. 

(3.) The disciples give the same testimony. Not one of 
them believed He was God or treated Him as such. They call 
Him Lord and Master, which to them meant the same thing. 



212 WHAT THINK YE OF CHRIST? 

They call Him "the Son of man" and "Son of God," but 
never God. Jesus puts the question to them as if to see if they 
understood Him, "Whom do ye say that I am?" Peter 
answered, and none questioned his answer, "Thou art the 
Christ, the Son of the living God." Jesus frankly admits this, 
as it is the very language He used of Himself. 

(4.) The Evangelists are on the same side. They speak of 
Him as " Son of God," "Son of man," as "sent," "anointed," 
"inspired," "directed," "supported," "exalted," by God. 
They say He was born and begotten, but God was never born. 
One calls Him the only begotten of the Father, but the be- 
gotten and the one begetting cannot be the same. Paul says, 
"There is one God and one mediator between God and man, 
the man Christ Jesus." Paul agrees with the rest. He calls 
Him "the image of the invisible God." But the Bible says 
we are all "made in the image of God." But the image or 
likeness is not the original or its equal. He further says, " by 
Him were all things created," but in this He was subordinate, 
for " it pleased the Father that in Him should all fullness 
dwell." 

John also said that "the Word was with God and 
was God, and was made flesh and dwelt among 
men." This is a personification of the divine energy 
or wisdom, as man's mind or thought is spoken of 
as man himself. In this sense God was made flesh and 
dwelt in Jesus, just as we say God was with Abraham Lincoln 
and was in him, freeing the slaves and saving the great nation. 
This is so, or John contradicts himself and all the rest when 
they call Him "Son of God," for He could not be Son and 
Father at the same time. All doubtful passages must conform 
to this general tenor and drift of the plain Scriptures. The 
new translation rules out or corrects several of the Trinitarian 
passages. 

(5.) The enemies of Jesus are the only ones who say Jesus 
claimed to be equal with the Father, and they did it as a pre- 



WHAT THINK YE OF CHRIST? 213 

text to stone Him. " The Jews sought to kill Him because 
He had not only broken the Sabbath but said God was His 
Father, making Himself equal with God." Remember, Jesus 
only said " God was His Father," and when they said He 
thus made Himself equal with God, He denied it at once in 
these strong words : " The Son can do nothing of Himself but 
what He seeth His Father do '- — ■" I can, of myself, do 
nothing. As I hear, I judge, and my judgment is just, be- 
cause I seek not my own will, but the will of the Father who 
hath sent me." 

Again they attack him for blasphemy, because they said, 
" Thou being a man, makest thyself God." But He imme- 
diately denies the charge by saying, If it was no blasphemy in 
their scriptures to call them gods to whom the Word of God 
came, how can it be blasphemy for me, whom the Father sanc- 
tified and sent, to say, " I am the Son of God?" 

What a spectacle ! Not God, nor the disciples, nor the 
apostles, nor the sacred writers, nor any friend of Jesus claims 
that He is equal with God. Only His enemies make the 
claim ; and they not because they believe it, but as a pretext 
to kill Him. And yet the Church took up this false charge 
generations after and made it the creed of Christendom. 

(6.) The doctrine of the Trinity was not known to the Jews 
and can not be found in the Old Testament from Adam to 
Jesus. It is not plainly taught in the Bible, so say Chalmers, 
Neander and Professor Shedd. Newton and Locke and Mil- 
ton, all great students of the Bible, denied it. The word 
trinity or triune God is never used in the Bible nor by any 
Christian writer for a hundred and fifty years after Christ. 

The simple gospel is, " Jesus is the Son of God," " God is 
my Father." Sonship does not imply equality, for Jesus 
denied it. And if you make them equal, then you have two 
Gods. 

(7.) But denying His deity does not deny His divinity. We 
are all made in the image of God, and His spirit dwells in us. 



214 WHAT THINK YE OF CHRIST? 

If this is true of us, as the Bible affirms, it must be true of 
"the man Christ Jesus, who was full of grace and truth." 

Jesus was born, lived, grew, was tempted, waxed strong in 
spirit and was filled with wisdom. There is divinity in us all 
— how much we know not. How then shall we measure that 
which was in Jesus ? So grandly did He live that the glory 
of the Father was revealed in the face of Jesus Christ. I 
have seen the glory of a father in the face of his son. So 
does the glory of God, the love of a Heavenly Father, shine 
in the face of his Son Jesus. 

Is this making Christ a mere man ? Then tell me what is 
"a mere man." Have the possibilities of the human soul 
ever been measured ? All that has ever come out of humanity 
— the genius of a Shakespeare, the wisdom of a Bacon, a 
Humboldt, the artists, sculptors, poets and inventors — all these 
are in the possibilities of a " mere man." 

This does not degrade Christ, it exalts humanity. What He 
was, we may be. What He taught we may learn and enjoy. 
As He lived we may live also. Thus He is our Savior, 
brother, friend ; our example, our ideal. He shows us the 
truth and makes us love it. He shows us the Father. He 
reveals God. He is God in the flesh, or as much of God's 
love and wisdom as you can bound by the flesh of man, and 
so He shows us how we may become sons of God. He came 
to conquer the world and make all, like Himself, obedient sons 
of God. This He is doing and will do until He has subdued 
all things unto Himself, and when all things shall be subdued 
unto Himself, "then shall the Son also be subject unto Him 
that put all things under Him, that God may be all in all." 



CHAPTER XIX. 



The Pulpit. 



The Christian Advocate reminds that the laudable aim to 
be attractive needs hedging : 

"The wish to be fresh and interesting in the pulpit is to a 
certain degree praiseworthy. To command attention, to 
awaken interest, is often to open a door for the entrance of 
truth. But it is very easy to sacrifice the Gospel message to 
this desire for novelty. It is not only permissible but praise- 
worthy, to illustrate a discourse by pithy anecdote and illus- 
tration. But these ought to bear the same proportion to the 
body of the sermon that buttons do to the mass of the gar- 
ment. This desire for freshness sometimes shows itself in a 
strained and florid rhetoric. All rhetoric is bad which over- 
lays the truth. It is excellent when it makes the truth more 
vivid. To give accurate expression to truth is a fine art. To 
do more than this is to be merely decorative. The gauds of 
rhetoric are to be avoided as a painter would avoid gauds of 
color. Anecdotal and rhetorical preachers are seldom long en- 
joyed. The same is true of those whose elocution is of the 
schools rather than nature, improved but not conventionalized. 
The sweetest and most attractive freshness is that which comes 
neither from anecdote, rhetoric nor elocution, but from the 
heart of the preacher, stirred by a constant study of the Word; 
quickened into full life by the Divine Spirit ; made effective 
by pastoral sympathy with human aches and needs. This 
will last. It will not need odd titles to call the people in. 



2l6 THE PULPIT. 

The common people will be drawn by it, and the judicious 
piety of the church will be attracted and greatly grow. And 
this sort of pulpit popularity is within the reach of every de- 
vout and diligent preacher, however worldly critics may esti- 
mate his talents." 

Rev. Mr. Laing on the Ministry. 

Do we need more ministers? If so, how may we obtain 
them ? I assume that we do need large accessions to our 
ministry. First, we need them because we have many vacant 
pulpits. Second, we need ministers, because the missionary 
work of our church waits for them to carry it forward. Third, 
we need more ministers, because the world is full of sinners. 
I think that I am safe in saying that there are more persons 
in Illinois outside the so-called Evangelical churches and un- 
able to cooperate with them than all of these churches include 
in their membership. It is our mission to win this great body 
of unchurched people to the Christian Church and to a participa- 
tion in its work. If we fail in our work, that failure will con- 
sist in the fact that we have not reached the great unchurched 
world. Some deem it a great triumph to win a convert from 
another church to their own, but it is a double triumph to win 
one from spiritual orphanage. In seeking for additions to our 
ministry, we should consider the qualifications of the men 
who are needed. I am convinced that education is indis- 
pensable ; yet the first condition is religion, piety. One should 
be prepared to exclaim, in the spirit of Christ, " To this end 
was I born, and for this cause came I into the world." Men 
should preach because they feel unable to seal their lips against 
the soul's earnest desire. The question of money should 
never enter into a man's thought, if he contemplates entering 
the ministry. The true minister of Jesus Christ should be 
ready to make sacrifices. 

In the days of the war, when I was approached by the re- 
cruiting officer, he did not urge especially the fact that I was 



THE PULPIT. 217 

to receive $11 per month, $100 county or a land warrant for 
160 acres somewhere on the Western desert. He did not say 
how many pounds of lead had to be fired at a man before he 
was hit. I enlisted with the understanding that there was 
peril in the enterprise. I did not expect to have a feather-bed 
to sleep upon, or at all times to have a roof over me, for I un- 
derstood all the difficulties of a soldier's life. I enlisted 
because I regarded it a privilege to stand for liberty, to assist 
in defending my country. Garibaldi evidently understood 
human life when, after a failure in battle, he called his men to- 
gether about him and said, "Whosoever for the love of liberty 
will accept cold and hunger, let him leave his home and fol- 
low me." He did not say, We may have a little difficulty in 
this enterprise at first, but we shall soon win ; then you will be 
made kings and dukes. Remember that you will not get rich 
in the ministry. Only a few of our ministers have a good 
bank account, and usually if they have, they give more atten- 
tion to something else than they do to the ministry. 

No artist paints much of a picture with the simple thought 
of how much he is to get for it. 

The ministry is precisely upon this plane. 

The minister who is working for the dollar, and not for God 
and humanity, fails. 

The world always pays for what it gets — permit me to add 
in passing that I never had a large salary. The churches that are 
closed to-day never had any spiritual life ; they simply existed 
as an organization to antagonize some one. The Pharisee who 
prayed had his reward — he was " seen and heard of men;" 
that was what he prayed for. So certain churches have ac- 
complished just what they were built for. They were erected 
simply as theological forts, to bombard orthodoxy. But when 
the white flag appeared, their work was done and they closed 
their doors. These are quite like the old forts in the South — 
they have finished their mission and been abandoned. 

The churches that were founded upon religion and built 



2l8 THE PULPIT. 

upon piety do not close their doors. We have not a single 
dying church in Illinois. We have a few secular organizations 
with no great degree of life. The body without the spirit is 
dead ; it ought to be; that is the only proper condition. 

The breath of God must inspire the minister, or his work 
will fail. If we have only a material interest to offer, we can- 
not get young men of ability ; he can make more money some 
other way. Out of my own experience I say that I can find 
in no other field so much of joy, in no other work so much of 
satisfaction as the work of suffering and the work of sacrifice. 
There is nothing that a man may not do with the grace of God 
upon him. 

Some one said in a speech yesterday, " Put one dollar into 
the work and the Lord will give you ten." 

Don't take any stock in this heresy. God will give you 
something a hundred times better than money. Let no enemy 
weigh money against the kingdom of God. Make the appeal 
to young men in this spirit of self-sacrifice and the appeal will 
be heard. 



The Pulpit : Its Weakness and Its Power. 



BY REV. R. H. PULLMAN. 

The power of the pulpit is in its legitimate themes ; its 
weakness is evidenced in two particulars — first, the interfer- 
ence of creeds ; and, second, inadequate presentation. For 
power, what things are comparable to salvation, righteousness, 
death, heaven, immortality, God? There are no other themes 
that have so thrilled the hearts of men; no other themes that 
have so absorbed the minds of men. No greater questions 
have ever been discussed either in common or in cultivated 
life, in the humble homes of poverty or in kings' palaces, 
among the learned and the unlearned, the good and the bad 



THE PULPIT. 219 

alike. The pulpit ought to be the centre around which the 
largest multitudes should gather. There should be no vacant 
seats in any sanctuary where such subjects are properly pre- 
sented. No place of amusement should attract larger multi- 
tudes ; no star in any drama should pack his house with more 
delighted audiences; no circus should take the crowd in greater 
numbers. But he is blind who does not see the greater popu- 
larity of these pleasures, recreations and entertainments of a 
day. What is there in Booth's Macbeth, or in his Hamlet, or 
in his Richelieu, comparable to Him whom the preacher has 
to present ? And yet, mark the fact announced in the news- 
papers : " No standing-room last night to hear the famous 
artist in his inimitable presentation;" "All reserved seats 
engaged weeks before the time." 

I allow myself to be second to no man in any admiration of 
the heroism of him who succeeds. The artist who can so 
present a dramatic character as to command the presence of 
delighted thousands, night after night, and in all varieties of 
weather, and who can take many more thousands of dollars as 
compensation fur his work, deserves my hearty applause. I am 
ashamed of myself, and of ministers generally, that with greater 
and more wonderful characters to present than any in the 
artists' repertoire, we do not crowd our churches, except, it 
may be, on very pleasant Sundays. The manner of presenting 
Bible and other characters, and illustrating and enforcing the 
great themes of the pulpit, is not what it should be — is not up 
to the standard. Ministers are too indifferent to the graces 
of speech. They are mostly miserable elocutionists. They do 
not train as they should that wonderful thing, the human 
voice, to bring out the full power as the great actors do. In 
this cultivated age such neglect is almost criminal. Why not 
study to attract by all the graces of voice and manner ? Why 
not use to the utmost these human means to bring the multi- 
tudes within the reach of the divine influences of the Christian 
pulpit ? There was a time when ministers boasted of their 



THE PULPIT. 






ignorance, so as to come within the protection of the apostolic 
statement, " God hath chosen the foolish things to confound 
the wise." 

But that time has practically passed, although there are 
some ministers who think if they have a call to preach, God 
will provide some marvelous means for their success better 
than such aids as cultivated art affords. The pulpit has suf- 
fered also greatly from brainy preaching without heart. Some 
pulpits are coldly intellectual, too dry and metaphysical. The 
heart has been too much overlooked as the fountain of that 
emotional nature to which the most powerful appeals may be 
made to influence and mold the life. People as a rule know 
what they ought to do and how they ought to live, but they 
lack the motive power. The preacher who recognizes this 
and makes his appeals to the heart in the best possible man- 
ner is the most successful. I said in the beginning that the 
Christian themes of the pulpit are the power of the pulpit, 
but suggested that these themes had been interfered with by 
the creeds of men. This interference is most lamentable and 
weakening. Take the theme of immortality, how glorious it 
is ! But if it be connected in any case with endless suffering, 
how utterly horrible it is ! Take the theme of Heaven, what 
is so divine ! But connected with the necessity of an eternal 
contrast — hell — how revolting to the noblest sympathies of 
the human heart ! 

Take the theme of religion, nothing is so grand, so inspir- 
ing, so exalting; but present it as a sort of security against 
an endless hell, and how the whole glory of the subject is let 
down and debased ! The preaching of the past — and it still 
lingers to blight the present — has been too much against en- 
tering into it and enjoying it to the full. It has been held up 
that the best thing to do is to get well out of the world into 
an awaiting Heaven. Christians must expect to suffer here, 
but it will be made up to them hereafter. All such creed 
preaching has weakened the power of the pulpit. The legiti- 



THE PULPIT. 22 1 

mate themes for the pulpit are God as a Universal Father, 
who made this world on a most magnificent scale, and to be 
enjoyed to the full. Religion is the way of the noblest as 
well as the most satisfactory life. Death is but an epoch in 
the life of the soul, a change from the mortal to the immor- 
tal, an entrance into a higher realm of being. An endless 
hell is but a superstitious dream to frighten the ignorant. 
Religion helps the world, and, at last, learning the eternal fact, 
every prodigal will return to his home, which is Heaven, and 
to his Father, who is the infinite and eternal God. 

Preach Christ. 

Preaching is an ancient custom. God appointed prophets 
to preach to the people in the olden times. Isaiah said the 
Lord had anointed him to preach the gospel of peace. Jesus 
commended his great mission on the earth by preaching that 
wonderful Sermon on the Mount which has come down to our 
day, and will continue to ring on through the world till the 
last sinner is converted from sin to holiness. Jesus, the 
Christ, was anointed to preach the gospel to the poor — the 
gospel of good news, of peace, of salvation. There is no gos- 
pel of evil, of bad news, of God's wrath, of eternal sin and 
endless torment. The gospel tells us of God as a loving 
Father, of Jesus as a loving Savior, and of Heaven as a home 
of holiness, peace and rest. Christ came to establish the 
gospel kingdom on earth, and He commanded His disciples to 
go into all the world and preach it to all nations and peoples. 
Paul was not ashamed to preach the gospel of Christ — he was 
willing to preach it in Rome and to the Gentiles everywhere. 

As Christ is the author of the gospel of love, peace and 
salvation, to preach the gospel is to preach Christ, and to 
preach Christ is to preach the gospel. The true work of the 
Christian minister is to preach the gospel of Christ. That 
kind of preaching is needed to-day just as much as it was in 



22 2 THE PULPIT. 

Paul's day. The world has not outgrown Christ yet, and will 
not outgrow the need of him while there is a human soul in 
darkness, while there is one straying sheep from the fold of 
the Great Shepherd, while there is a sinner to be saved. 

While there is so much sin and ignorance and moral dark- 
ness in the world, how can the minister of Christ neglect the 
great work of preaching the gospel, to talk of philosophy and 
science and worldly themes r" Is not the work of the minister 
plainly indicated in the New Testament? Is he not ordained 
to preach the gospel ? And is he ashamed of his true 
work ? The gospel is the power of God unto salvation, not 
alone of the Jews, but also of the Gentiles — not alone to the 
people who hear, but to the preacher who earnestly proclaims 
the good news of salvation. 

It is a great privilege to preach the gospel of Christ and it 
is a great mistake when the minister forsakes that great theme 
for the lesser things of this world. " Preach the Word ; be 
instant in season and out of season." — Selected. 

The Standard for Ministers and Laymen. 

In our own denomination, while a formal assent to the Win- 
chesterian Profession is deemed sufficient for admission to lay 
membership, in our examinations for ordination to the min- 
istry, in these days of rationalism and skepticism, we are prone 
to go more minutely into the views of the candidate on the 
topics of inspiration, miracle, etc. Practically, then, there is 
a higher or nicer standard of belief for the ministry than for 
the laity, and for the obvious reasons already hinted. 

And this rule has its analogy in practical usage in regard to 
morality as well as faith, and for similar reasons. It is held 
that the preachers of truth and virtue should not only speak 
the "things that become sound doctrine," but should also be 
"ensamples unto all that believe," and that they should avoid 
even "the appearance of evil." This is, indeed, desirable in 
all, but indispensable in the Christian apostle. 



THE PULPIT. 223 

Now most churches at the present day tolerate, or, at least, 
retain, sometimes, members who have some wrong ways, such, 
for instance, as the habitual use of intoxicants ; and, in some 
cases, even their occasionally excessive use, especially when, 
in other respects, they are people of worth and standing. We 
have in mind two cases of this kind in Presbyterian churches ; 
and though we cannot specify, we presume there may be such 
instances in our own churches. One of the cases to which 
we have referred, after years of forbearance on the part of 
the church, resulted in permanent reformation, while excom- 
munication would very probably have driven the unfortunate 
man rapidly to ruin. There is a more lenient spirit in our 
day on this subject than formerly, though the standard of 
temperance has been made higher than of old. 

But how would this apply to ministerial fellowship and dis- 
cipline? Who among our clergy could urge the propriety of 
tolerating in a minister the occasionally excessive, or even the 
habitually moderate use of intoxicating beverages ? We re- 
call two cases in the older ministry of discipline for the im- 
moderate use of spirits, and both were admonished and 
retained on giving pledges of total abstinence. In the earlier 
of the two cases, some of the ministers who formed the tribu- 
nal were unpledged, not having yet come into the organized 
temperance movement. 

Now if the rule that there should be no closer moral re- 
quirement of the clergy than of the laity is sound, either these 
partially recreant laymen should have been excommunicated, 
or these delinquent clergymen should have been tolerated, like 
the weaker laymen. 

Both the church and the world demand a higher tone of 
morals in their spiritual teachers than in the people they are 
set to teach. The laity should be square in conduct ; the 
minister must be. Some one has illustrated this by saying 
that if a man's watch runs wrong, it deceives only himself; but 
if the town clock goes wrong, it misleads the public. The 



2 24 THE PULPIT. 

minister is the spiritual town clock, and though imperfect 
should keep himself wound and regulated. — Selected. 

How to Preach. 

i. Plainly. — The gospel ought to be preached so plainly 
as to be clearly and easily understood by those who hear. 
Technical or scientific language is to be excluded from popu- 
lar sermons. A still greater trespass against plainness of 
speech is committed in what is called metaphysical preaching. 
Even Paul, one of the most profound of all reasoners, never 
appears to choose abstruse discussions when the subject will 
allow of any other, and returns with apparent pleasure to a 
plainer mode of discourse as soon as the case will permit. 
Our Savior treats everything in the most direct manner of 
common sense, although he often discourses concerning things 
of a profound nature. 

2. Variously. — By this I intend that both the manner, 
and especially the subjects, should be diversified. 

3. Boldly. — He who brings a message from God ought 
never to be afraid of man. 

4. Solemnly. — All things pertaining to divine truth are 
eminently solemn. 

5. Earnestly. — He who would persuade others that he is 
interested in the subjects on which he descants must feel them, 
and must express his views of them feelingly. 

6. Affectionately. — A preacher is sent on an errand 
more expressive of tenderness and good-will than any other. 
He comes to disclose the boundless mercy of God to man. — 
Dr. Dwight. 

Effectiveness. 

Every true preacher will care for the things that promote 
his effectiveness. Let him, then, for one thing, care for the 
use of his eyes while preaching. Let him, as much as possi- 
ble, look into the faces and eyes of his hearers. Some 



THE PULPIT. 



225 



preachers look into a congregation in general, without dis- 
tinguishing any person in particular. Some set their eyes 
toward the congregation, but the eyes are fixed, and are look- 
ing inwardly as much as outwardly, and really seeing but little. 
Some look along a line just above the people's eyes or heads. 
Some strike their vision down just one side of this hearer and 
that one. Some look away into the upper corner of the room, 
or to the top of some window. Some give the merest and 
swiftest glance out towards or over the people now and then, 
and some really never squarely face their congregation. 
What we plead for is that the speaker should deliberately, 
honestly and steadily see very individuals while he speaks. 
Soon he will not be daunted, but kindled and inspired by the 
answering looks and answering interest. The prayer-meeting 
is a good opportunity for making way in this accomplishment. 
- — Watchman. 

Preachers Who Wear Out. 

The Interior answers the question : " Who are the preach- 
ers who wear out at fifty?" — 

The men who deal in doctrines as if they were things in 
themselves, who never have learned that the force of truth is 
nothing till, brought into contact with human needs, it 
becomes divine energy ; the men who make sermons as if 
they were images for people to look at ; or the men who 
slight sermons, and are strong in running around the commu- 
nity, and as mere social activities, making themselves as 
ubiquitous as possible — these are the ones who soon exhaust 
themselves and the people. For there is an end even to 
handshaking, and perpetual buzzing loses its novelty. 

But given a true sense of the correlation of God's truth 
with every activity of man, whether individual or general ; 
such increasing knowledge of the truth as can adapt it to 
every circumstance, and, above all, such living sympathy with, 
people as will constitute a man a good conductor for carrying 



2 26 THE PULPIT. 

the truth to them by word and feeling and life, and the con- 
ditions are all present for such growth of the hold of the 
pulpit on the community as may be compared to the grasp of 
a forest tree on the soil into which it has wound itself. 

Taken altogether, pulpit permanence is not a thing of social 
influence and interest, not a thing of intellectual power, not a 
thing of personal sympathy, but all three together manifested 
through a spiritual life and character. At last the moral force 
commands the world, and he will hold his place best and 
longest in any calling, whose special gifts and aptitudes are 
sustained and strengthened by that moral ground which is to 
human labor what the base of the world is to the tree that is 
projected out of it. 

Diffusive Preaching. 

The weakness of the pulpit in the present day is largely to 
be attributed to diffusive preaching. It covers more than is 
included in the Word. It shows a want of appreciation of the 
work and earnestness in it. No man is diffusive who realizes 
the magnitude and responsibility of his mission. There is no 
diffusiveness in earnestness. Dives was not diffusive. Abra- 
ham was not diffusive in his replies. They understood each 
other and felt the weight of each other's communication. 
There is much preaching that sprawls all about at the close. 
The sun-glass is needed here for concentration and heat. 
Another kind of preaching is all introduction, while the close, 
as we heard a farmer describe it, " is the switch end of the 
tree." It not only fails in force and fervor, but not enough falls 
in any one spot to do any good. It suggests to us a modern 
contrivance to water lawns by spray — it dampens everything, 
but soaks nothing, and the gardener has to go about with 
his water-pot and pour water down at the roots and open the 
soil as well, or his choice growths will wither under the spray, 
even when continued for hours. — The Presbyterian. 



the pulpit. 227 

Keep the Faith. 

Here are some ringing words from an address to a graduat- 
ing class of ministers : 

11 But keep the faith. Hunger to know more of it. Thirst 
to drink deeper of it. Above all, get it inwrought in your 
life. Transfuse it into experience. There are blessed gate- 
ways to open before you yet, and into riches of God of which 
you have not even dreamed. 

11 A dear classmate of mine in the seminary, writing to me 
only last week, copied this out of his heart : ' I have learned 
a great deal more of the sweetness of the doctrines of grace 
than I knew. My understanding of the goodness of the 
Lord has been much enlarged. Though my convictions of 
these truths were strong, I had not. entered into their blessed- 
ness in my own experience. Now I find them rich and sweet 
beyond my power of expression.' 

" So will you, dear brethren, as the years go on and you are 
found faithful. God keeps those who keep his truth. God 
feeds those who love his truth. And the truth grows sweeter 
to the taste as it grows used to the lips and hearts. But the 
truth is for battle as well as for nourishment. Nothing arms 
like the truth of God. It kept Paul unblanched before " wild 
beasts " at Ephesus, and before the Neronian lion at 
Rome. Brethren, wild beasts doubtless want some of you. 
That roaring lion, worldliness, will at last mean harm to you, 
if you threaten to trouble him. You are thrust into no easy 
time. Skepticism will confront and challenge you. The age 
is bent on material rather than spiritual gain, and problems 
and philosophies. One of you will at once stand face to face 
with some of the worst features of a wily, repressive despotism. 
All of you will be beset with the rulers of darkness But you 
will quail in no presence and before no opposition if you keep 
the faith:' 



2 28 THE PULPIT. 



Directness. 



The majority of persons who come to church want simple, 
direct, gospel preaching. This is true of men of high and of 
low estate. They want what comes home to their business and 
bosoms, what addresses their hearts rather than their heads. 
They are heart-hungry for God's pure Word. 

Pastoral Visits. 

No preacher can neglect pastoral visitation without loss both 
to himself and to his flock. He robs himself of that personal 
knowledge of his people's needs and fails to acquire that sym- 
pathy with their peculiar states of mind, which, if possessed, 
add both to suitability of his preaching to their varied condi- 
tions and to his power over them. A good pastor, knowing that, 
by his appropriate treatment of truth in the pulpit, he is lifting 
souls " out of the depths," is roused, as by inspirations, to put 
forth his best energies. And his manifest sympathy with his 
people begets a kindred sympathy in them. He and they are 
thus drawn toward each other by common sympathy, and they 
suffer him to lead them to those green pastures in which their 
souls are richly fed. Thus both preacher and people are ben- 
efited by his fidelity to his pastoral duties ; but, be it carefully 
noted, to reap these benefits the pastor must not make his 
calls occasions for mere gossipy talk, but for judicious conver- 
sation on personal religion, and, where at all convenient, for 
prayer ! — Zion's Herald. 

Keep Out of Ruts. 

The Rev. Dr. George Jeffrey of Glasgow, Scotland, has 
preached more than forty-six years to the same congregation. 
To one of his former parishioners, now a New York merchant, 
Dr. Jeffrey explained the secret of his being able to interest 
the same audience so long. " I read every new book that has 



THE PULPIT. 229 

a bearing upon my special work," he said, " and make extracts 
from it, and index them, so that at any moment I can find them 
when wanted. In this way I keep myself from moving in a 
rut. I work as hard as I used to at twenty, and I keep so far 
ahead with my sermons that there are always ten or fifteen lying 
in my drawer ready to receive the results of my last readings. 
I call them ' sleeping sermons,' but it is they that sleep and 
not the people who hear them." 

"No excellence without labor" — a familiar apothegm! 
Hard work comes in everywhere, if one shall succeed. It is 
the price the universe demands of every soul that shall pierce 
to its hidden centre, discover the heart of things and know 
what is real joy and rest. Hard work ! yes, it presses on us 
deeply ; it wears our lives out ; it weighs us frequently down, 
nigh to the depths of despair. But no one ever yet sharpened 
a lead-pencil to a perfect, symmetrical, usuable point, doing it 
well, that he did not, however unconsciously, by so much lay 
hold of God, and know something of the deep peace of God. 
Does not that repay him for his weariness ? It should. — -J. H. 
W., in Unity. 

Moral Power. 

I would not give anything for the most eloquent preacher 
in the world who had not back of that the eloquence of a life 
of moral power, of a consistent character ; and then it is not 
so much the words that are said as the unction streaming, as 
it were, from God Himself that has the effect. 

I would not dare to preach if I did not have confidence in 
the Love that is watching over us — if I thought I was the 
minister of some awful power or mystery. If I thought that I 
must carry to dying beds and to scenes of mortal need only 
the great dark shadow of mystery, I could not preach. It is 
because I think I have to speak of infinite love — of love 
greater than we can fathom, broader than we can compass, 
more full than we can express ; because I feel that there is a 



230 THE PULPIT. 

power back of the humble words which I speak to flow into 
the hearts of men and lift them up. 

When you can jam a man up against a great fact of life, 
and ask him, How now ? — what does this teach you ? — what 
does that say, O man ! to the deep heart within you ? — what 
does that speak to the aspiring, thirsty soul ? — when you can 
do that, there is power in preaching ; and if it is only the leaf 
of the lily or the wing of the wild bird, it has infinite power 
the moment it presses home the great reality of the truth it 
contains. — Chapin. 



A Word to Ministers. 



BY REV. E. W. WHITNEY. 

Every year the work of the Christian ministry seems to 
grow more difficult and exacting. Perhaps a few practical 
hints, based upon personal observation, may cheer or en- 
courage some worker in the Universalist vineyard. 

Painstaking study is a requisite of high success in the 
ministry. An efficient sermonizer must use his eyes and ears. 
He must be a student of the human heart and of society, as 
well as of the Bible. No doubt he should be well grounded 
in Christian doctrines, one who has caught the spirit as well 
as the letter of the gospel, a man able to give a reason for the 
faith that is in him ; but he should be more than this. It is 
his duty to keep up with the times. He must read, not every- 
thing published — for in these days of prolific printing that 
would be impossible — but the best books and periodical 
literature. He should know the drift of modern thought, and 
be able to discuss current issues with vigor and intelligence. 
By a wise economy of time and a judicious selection of read- 
ing matter, his mind can thus be kept out of ruts and his 
sermons be made always timely, suggestive and helpful. 



THE PULPIT. 23I 

Many fail to attain the highest success from a lack of per- 
sistence. A famous general, upon taking command of an 
army which had often been defeated, said: "The trouble 
with these troops is that they have never fought their battles 
through." Under his command they gained tenacity of pur- 
pose, and so went on to victory. We have known ministers 
to suffer defeat because they gave up at the time when ener- 
getic work would have insured prosperity. Difficulties and 
disappointments must be expected ; the best efforts to help 
others may not be appreciated; people who ought to help may 
hinder; but let the minister press on in the path of duty, and 
he shall not fail. As a man sows he shall also reap, and con- 
secrated labor, if persevered in, will receive a just reward. 
That eminent Unitarian divine, Dr. W. G. Elliot, began 
preaching in St. Louis to fifty hearers. In six months how 
many did he have? A hundred? Five hundred? Alas! 
only nine remained. A weak-willed man would have given 
up in despair, but Dr. Elliot had that heroic faith which in- 
spired him to toil until he built up a strong and influential 
church which has been fruitful of good works. From his 
example a needed lesson should be learned. Let duty be 
faithfully done, however fruitless it seems. Let the servant 
of the Most High God press on in the power of his might, 
and the Heavenly Father will not allow him to fail. 

Thorough pastoral work is as essential as good preaching. 
As preachers, our ministers average exceedingly well. Their 
sermons, as a rule, are thoughtful, vigorous and well delivered. 
Can as much be said of them as "fishers of men?" Too 
often they fail to understand the power of personal influence. 
They do not follow up their preaching enough with individual 
work. They are more prone to split theological hairs, or 
read entertaining books, than to seek out and save the lost. 
With very rare exceptions, the men who have made the larg- 
est parishes, whose ministry has been long continued and in- 
creasingly useful, have been the most devoted to pastoral 



232 THE PULPIT. 

duties. The pastor's faithfulness to individuals largely deter- 
mines the worth and power of his ministry. 

"Why Don't the Pastor Come?" 

The more faithful a pastor is, and the more fit by his very 
sensitiveness to be a good pastor, the more he is pained by 
the unnecessary complaints of his people. One form of his 
annoyance is the complaint of sick people that the pastor does 
not visit them. The invalid who is a member of a church 
ought to know that he has no friend in the world more ready 
to come to see him than the pastor. He ought to be the 
parishioner of a pastor of such a character as to be the most 
desirable man for the sick man to see ; and yet through all 
the large churches people sicken, and sometimes recover, and 
then go sulking through the church six months, until at last it 
is discovered that the ground of their grumbling is that the 
pastor had not visited them when they were sick. It is this 
senseless demand of omniscience which is so intolerable. 

This naturally brings up the question, whether the pastor 
ought to go to see sick people until he is sent for. What 
right has a whole congregation to suppose that the pastor 
knows of sickness when no human being ever presumed upon 
the physician's having that knowledge? It would be less un- 
reasonable to make this latter supposition. A physician pass- 
ing amongst the families in which he has patients might begin 
to suspect from some bodily appearance that sickness would 
shortly ensue, and might therefore be expected to go around 
in due time to see if the suspected person was really sick. 
Instead of that, it is the pastor, a man engaged in quite differ- 
ent studies, who is supposed to be able, from looking over his 
congregation on Sunday, to believe that Mr. A. will be sick on 
Monday, Mrs. B. will be ill on Tuesday, Mr. C. will sprain his 
ankle on Wednesday, Mrs. D.'s child will have the measles on 
Thursday, and so on through the week. The physician whose 
business it is especially to look after sick folks, never goes till 






THE PULPIT. 233 

he is sent for, even if he knows there is sickness; but the 
minister is expected to come without being sent for, and to be 
able to tell that there is sickness without any information. 

Perhaps each church needs three bishops : a pastor bishop, 
an evangelist bishop and a teacher bishop — one to take care 
of those who are already enrolled in the church, to keep 
them toned up and drilled ; another to go out, leading forth 
as many of the church as he can, to bring in those who are 
outside, beating up recruits and training them for the service ; 
and a third to preach to those inside and outside the church, 
giving his whole time to that one work. As it is now, these 
three functions are expected to be discharged by one man. 
Whoever that man is, and however large his capabilities of 
discharging duties in these three departments, it is quite cer- 
tain that he will excel in one. A man who devotes himself to 
personal care of hundreds of members of a church will have 
little time to go out among men of the world and endeavor to 
bring them into the church of God. He who devotes his 
whole week to this latter employment can have little time to 
prepare for the pulpit ; and he who does, or undertakes to do, 
all three, cannot hope to do any of them quite as well. Hence 
the disappointment. It is as if a man undertook to practice 
medicine and law and edit a daily paper. That is just what is 
often expected of pastors in the large churches of our cities. 
— Dr. Deems. 



Pastoral and Sermonic Habits. 






DR. THEODORE CUYLER'S EXPERIENCE. 

I begin work on my sermons on Tuesday, and I am so en- 
gaged, off and on, until the end of the week. Mondays I use 
for miscellaneous work. I never wrote but one sermon in my 
life on Monday. I do not think I ever wrote one, or pre- 
pared for one — that is, in the regular course of my ministerial 



234 THE PULPIT. 

work — on Saturday. While I am outside of an insane asylum 
I never expect to do it. When Saturday comes I have made 
it my rule to be clear for the Sabbath. I begin early in the 
week, so as to be free from any pressure and anxiety in the 
matter, and in that way can make allowance for interruptions. 

The evening is a bad time in which to work, and yet many 
clergymen prepare their sermons at that time. All the ser- 
monic work I have done at night in thirty-eight years would 
not amount, all told, to two discourses. 

I lay aside memoranda to be used in preparing sermons, 
but I have no particular system about preserving it. I once 
tried the habit of jotting down thoughts for future use, but 
did not find that it worked successfully. But as to keeping a 
commonplace book, I think it is an admirable idea ; and I 
would advise young clergymen to try the plan of writing down 
their best thoughts and pasting in such scraps as may be use- 
ful at some future time. 

I do not think I have ever declined half a dozen requests com- 
ing from outside my parish to attend a funeral, and then only 
on the ground of previous engagements. Though my parish 
is large, it has been my rule not to decline to attend a funeral, 
unless an imperative engagement prevented my doing so. 
There are cases where it is unreasonable to ask the pastor of 
a large church to do it ; but, on the whole, I endeavor to be 
as accommodating as possible to the outside public. As to 
whether a fee should be received for such service, I have ex- 
pressed myself before on that subject as follows: 

" If a fee is offered, let it be received, except from the very 
poor, and used for a good object. To decline it, in most 
cases, would give offense. A service for those outside of the 
pastor's congregation often involves much extra labor ; and a 
fee, under such circumstances, may often be proper." 

I use as much of the five afternoons of the week as I can for 
pastoral work. Saturday I do not employ in that way. To tell the 
truth, I suppose, in proportion to the size of my congregation, 



THE PULPIT. 235 

that I have made more pastoral visits during the last thirty- 
one years in New York and Brooklyn than, maybe, any other 
minister in those two cities. This custom has cost me a great 
sacrifice of minister's ordinary recreations, especially in the 
way of literary recreations and enjoyments; but I have made 
that sacrifice from a pretty high ideal I have had before me as 
to pastoral work. Perhaps I have gone to the extreme in that 
direction. I cannot say that I would recommend all young 
ministers to do as I have done. 

But my health is good, and I do not care for physical rec- 
reations. I never lost but two Sundays in my life on account 
of sickness. And I am a good sleeper. I have found that 
the key to a man's success as a minister lies in securing sleep. 
The word " sleep " covers half the battle, because ministers 
break down through the nervous system. The one restorative 
for the nervous system, and the only one, is sleep. As long 
as a minister can sleep, he will keep his congregation wide- 
awake; the moment he loses his sleep they will fall to nodding. 
— Homiletical Monthly. 

Humor and Sermon. 

Our religious assemblies and conventions, sitting through 
sessions of three to four hours' duration, are in real need of 
such little respites of humor as they indulge in — but we never 
heard any "Joe Miller" jokes in any of them. And here is 
the reason why sermons are growing shorter and shorter : An 
audience will listen for two hours to the most weighty dis- 
course if the orator will rest them occasionally, but the 
preacher, as he is expected to proceed straight through with- 
out any such rests, is compelled to occupy but a short time. 
In lieu of wit or humor, the preacher may make an hour's 
discourse appear short by the employment of anecdote, illus- 
trations, descriptions, or something which takes the strain off 
the mind without breaking up his logical processes. To do 
this perfectly requires laborious and careful preparation — be- 



236 THE PULPIT. 

cause these episodes must be fitting and becoming to 'the 
occasion. The Americans are not a silly, frivolous people, 
filling the air with the inane laughter of fools. They are the 
most serious and intense people in the world. — Interior. 



CHAPTER XX. 



The Choice of a Profession. 



BY REV. EVERETT L. CONGER, A. M. 

Every earnest and ambitious young person comes upon this 
important and sometimes perplexing question : " What shall I 
choose for my life-work ? In what field can I do the best 
work for the world ? In what one of the many callings can I 
achieve the greatest success for myself, and be of the most 
service to my fellow-men ? " 

This question is one of the most important that the young 
are called upon to answer. 

A hasty and inconsiderate choice has wrecked the prospects 
of many promising lives. 

" My life has not been as useful nor as happy as it would 
have been, if I had chosen a profession better suited to my 
taste and abilities," are familiar words to our ears. " Failure " 
is written over many a life that simply " missed its calling " 
for want of a wise choice. 

To aid the young in finding their true place, where they 
can work best and accomplish most, is the object of this 
paper. 

To do this, let me set the Ministry beside the other profes- 
sions, that you may see what attractions it offers and from 
among the many make the wise choice. 

I. Any profession, to command the attention of the young, 



238 THE CHOICE OF A PROFESSION. 

must be an honorable one, with a high ideal. If there is any- 
thing a young man loves it is an Ideal. The companion he 
selects for life is his ideal woman of all the world. The pro- 
fession he weds must embody his ideal. He should not choose 
as a life-work that which does not command his respect, which 
will not employ his best gifts, or yield success to his best efforts. 
If he looks to the Ministry, he will find one of the noblest call- 
ings and the best use for any talent he may possess. If he has 
a love of learning, the Ministry gives him more time for study 
than any other profession. The lawyer often laments that he 
has not the time to study the latest literature of the day, or to 
keep pace with the thought of the best thinkers. He must 
keep close to his client and in the wrangle of the courts, to 
keep his business. 

The doctor, merchant, business man, no matter what their 
love of learning may have been when they left college, all say, 
" It is an everlasting grind, this daily digging, and I cannot 
seek these rich fields of thought, or climb to the fountains of 
learning from which I would drink.'' 

Not so the minister. He finds time to study. It is a part 
of his work. As he is a constant teacher he must be a 
constant learner. He may stand always by the Pierian 
spring. 

If he is a brainy man, what other calling can give him 
such opportunity to become the best thinker, the profoundest 
reasoner, the most charming writer, the sweetest poet, the best 
scientist, or the master orator ? Are not all these the very 
weapons of his warfare ? The more he masters Literature, Art, 
Philosophy, Astronomy, Geology, the greater teacher does he 
become, and the more can he serve his fellow-men. 

His field is the world, and if he can driaw upon the world for 
his resources, what limit can you set to his work ? Is it not 
grand that the Gospel, which is good news to all the world, 
says to its ministers, "In My service, all things are yours." 

If the Ministry has been narrowed in its scope by those 



THE CHOICE OF A PROFESSION. 239 

who loved dogma, or doctrine, or priestly service, it is to- 
day the largest and freest field in which man can work. 
Wherever he can serve a fellow-man, there he may go. Where- 
ever he can plant a great truth, or sow the seeds of love, 
there is his field ; and whatever will serve the truth of God 
or the good of man, is his to use in this noble calling. 

But have some exalted the Ministry, so that the average 
young man, who is trying to choose among the many profes- 
sions the one in which he can do most and be most, thinks it 
beyond his reach ? Have they thrown around it a halo, or a 
mystery, or a sacredness that has awed him from its presence? 
Four young men who were with me in college have confessed 
to me since, that they had serious thought of entering the 
Ministry, but they thought it was beyond their reach. They 
were not good enough for its sacred calling. But in their 
"secular" callings, they have honored their work and held 
sacred trusts and lived clean, consecrated lives in love to God 
and man. The Ministry has a place for such men. The 
Gospel makes all callings sacred. Are we not all " laborers 
together with God ?" 

The Ministry may be placed beside other professions and 
be brought close to the young, where they can see it with 
their every-day eyes and feel it with their best impulses. 

You may judge it as you do other fields of toil, by your 
reason, your candor, your fitness for it and its fitness for you ; 
and if you can make a brave, true man, you need not turn 
away from the work that makes men and has for its model 
"the perfect man Christ Jesus." 

Judged as any other profession, you will find that the Min- 
istry offers : 

1. An independent field of work. 

Is it suggested that he must preach to please everybody ? 
I answer, the man who tries to do that will fail as a minister. 
The pulpit is the last place in which the people will tolerate 
such a double-minded man. 



240 THE CHOICE OF A PROFESSION. 

They may like it in the doctor. The merchant must put 
up with abuse and almost insult, to keep his customers. The 
editor may stifle his convictions, to say what the stockholders 
dictate, or an exacting public demands. But the preacher, 
while he speaks the truth in love, will be heard and honored 
by those who differ. 

I speak out of a busy twenty years of constant service, and 
I say that I have had the utmost freedom in my pulpit and 
my work, and some of my best helpers have been among 
those who have differed from me most. 

What other profession can say more ? 

2, The minister is his own master. He calls no man master, 
save only that One whom he delights to follow. He is master 
of his time. He can choose his own hours of labor, recre- 
ation and rest. He is no slave to a ten or sixteen hour law. 
He works when at his best, and so works freely, and can thus 
work twenty hours with joy. The relentless office or corpo- 
ration or store does not command him, sick or well. 

His tasks are varied. It is not a steady grind at one thing. 
If he wearies at one task he finds rest in another, and having 
accomplished it, he returns with renewed vigor to the first. 
He can desert his study to-day, and while he comforts the 
sorrowing, heals the sick and carries sunshine and hope into 
many hearts and homes, or makes some man brave again, to 
take up life's work and go forward, he is enriching his own 
life, and when he returns to his study, his soul is full of life 
and thought and vigor, and he writes manly words of truth 
and love for those who shall feed upon his words when Sun- 
day comes. 

No wonder men break down at the desk, or in their great 
enterprises. It is not from overwork. It is the dead level 
monotonous pull at the same thing. 

The merchant thinks and figures in the same line and on 
the same things, and wears out one set of faculties, while the 
rest of this grand outfit wastes from neglect. The equal bal- 






THE CHOICE OF A PROFESSION. 241 

ance is lost and a wreck follows. His clerk stands behind the 
counter to do a thoughtless, mechanical thing, day after day, 
year after year, and the color fades from his cheek, the light 
from his eye ; vigor goes from his thought and strength from 
his body, and he is broken down before his time. No won- 
der men weary of ten hours a day, and cry eight is enough, 
when you think what they are doing. One monotonous, 
thoughtless task for ten hours a day, six days in a week, four 
weeks in a month, twelve months in a year, and then repeat 
it, with no change and little improvement. It is not the 
work of which they weary. Men love to work. It is the 
low, unthinking, mechanical monotony that makes a thinking 
man cry out. 

The minister does not weary of eight or ten or eighteen 
hours a day, because his work calls upon all the forces of his 
manhood to help. His soul and body are together doing the 
world's work laid upon him, and the "yoke becomes easy and 
the burden light." And so it is, that the ministers are among 
the hardest workers and yet live the longest of any class of 
workers. 

3. From this it appears that the Ministry is the healthiest 
profession. You can take better care of the body through 
which the soul and mind do their work. Is not health the 
first requisite in every work ? 

Certainly you can do the best work in that profession where 
you have the best health. 

4. Again, you will find the Ministry yields its financial 
compensation : "The laborer is worthy of his hire." The man 
who goes into any profession has a right to expect that it will 
pay. And this can be said of the Ministry. No profession 
yields more comfort and a better average living than the Min- 
istry. " Not one lawyer in a dozen makes a living out of his 
profession," said a prominent judge of Wisconsin. They 
must turn to something else. This is not true of the Ministry. 
Ninety-eight per cent, of the men who go into business fail — 



242 THE CHOICE OF A PROFESSION. 

ninety-five in careful, conservative Boston. Can you say this 
of the minister ? He earns his money. It is more than the 
average earnings of his congregation. And he gets more of it 
with less trouble in collecting than any other man. We hear 
a great deal about stingy parishes and poorly paid ministers, 
and much we hear is true. But when the old Indian's " poor 
preach" has offset the " poor pay," it is still true that the Min- 
istry is better paid, and gets its pay with less litigation than 
any other profession. See the work and worry and strife it 
costs men to get their money, and how hard it is to keep it. 
They must keep on this low plane and give the best of their 
thought and life to their sordid work. 

But the minister works first in the realm of noble thought 
and holy living, while "all these things — wherewithal he is 
clothed and fed — are added unto him." Is it not better to 
work for the Kingdom of God and its righteousness, and have 
the temporal things added, than to grind out your life in the 
low line of getting and holding that " which moth and rust 
doth corrupt, and which thieves break through and steal ? " 

I heard a man say : "My boy shall not enter the Ministry. 
He cannot make money enough ! " For shame ! If he is an 
average man and honest, he will fare as well as the average 
business man to whom he preaches. If he is gifted, he can 
stand at the front with Chalmers, Wesley, Farrar, Chapin, 
Collyer, Brooks, Thomas, Miner, Swing and others, whose 
incomes have equaled those of other professions. Mr. 
Beecher's income from his professional work for many years 
was over $30,000 annually. 

But if a young man is seeking a profession simply to make 
money, the Ministry is no place for him ; and every other 
profession would be better without him. 

Your fee-first man degrades everything he touches. If he 
u?es the law only to make money, he is bringing down that 
noble profession — ordained to secure justice, establish equity, 
protect innocence and right wrong — to the service of Mam- 



THE CHOICE OF A PROFESSION. 243 

mon. Men like Rufus Choate and Story, won distinction not 
by putting their fee first. 

They loved their pursuit and put it first. They mastered 
it; they brought every power of their being to its service, and 
in doing this they developed great characters, gained wide 
reputations, and have done a proud work for the world. The 
doctor who thinks more of his pay than his patient will dis- 
grace the healing art. If he would rather save his patient, 
and be the master of disease and the restorer of health, even 
if he lost his fee, he will rise to eminence in his work among 
men. 

While a man is making money he is making character. If 
he thinks only of riches and how to get them, and works only 
for this end, what manner of man will he be ? That which 
betrays trust to get money. The Judases who betray their 
masters' truth, honor, right, conscience, for the silver, grow on 
this soil. Defaulters are made in this way. But what does it 
profit a man if he gains the whole world, and in doing it, loses 
his good name, reputation, honor, character, aye, his own soul 
— the noble self he would have been — had he worked for the 
soul of things. 

Be not deceived, young friend, by this craze to get rich. It 
is an iron-handed master who says the goal of life is riches, 
and it is driving us like slaves to get them. Seek the noblest 
work, the work you love the best and can do the best, and the 
compensation will be sufficient. 

5. But the ministry has other and higher rewards than 
money. It opens the best literary circles. If the young man 
has taken time to equip himself for his work, he has already 
earned his way to these high places, and they welcome him at 
once. He becomes a useful factor among the best thinkers, 
and in turn enjoys all they can give. 

6. The Ministry admits you at once to the best fields of 

SOCIAL LIFE. 

Three young men come from college and take up their work 



244 THE CHOICE OF A PROFESSION. 

in the same town. The lawyer must find his clients through 
years of hard work. The doctor waits and sometimes starves 
before the patients send for him. But the minister finds a 
good constituency awaiting him. The Gospel gives him a 
place at once. The homes are open to him. His work is 
all in hand, awaiting him. He starts with every advantage 
over his associates. If he fails to win the race, or to do some- 
thing for himself or the world, the difficulty must lie near his 
own door. 

7. But the Ministry says to the young who want to work 
where work will tell, that its work is the noblest of all, for it 
deals with the minds and hearts of men. In the Ministry you 
are to plant divine truth in the fields of thought, direct the 
thinking of the world and make public opinion ; you can feed 
the mind of the young and help them grow to do the thinking 
of the world ; you may teach wisdom and virtue, and see the 
learners grow wise and true j show them the way of life and 
find them walking in that golden path ; call the world away 
from the wrong to that which is right; lessen the evil and 
swell the good ; lighten the burdens and increase the joys of 
men ; enthrone goodness and God in humanity and make 
humanity divine. These are some of the works to which the 
Ministry invites you, and the results thereof are beyond all 
measurement, for they go into the destiny of the race. 

8. The field of the preacher is the world, and the harvest 
is humanity. The Ministry therefore offers no place for 
idlers. The busiest hands, the largest brain, the bravest re- 
formers, will find work enough. The Ministry invites you 
to hard work and its rich rewards, to noble sacrifices which 
may come thick and fast. If you would be a hero, you may 
find large scope for your heroism. If there is in you the stuff 
of which martyrs are made, the Ministry has been full of 
them, and there is ample room for more. Lovejoy could die 
for freedom, and Rev. George Haddock, shot down by saloon 



THE CHOICE OF A PROFESSION. 245 

men, would rather die than keep silence when righteousness 
and temperance and the home were in peril. 

These are among the attractions which the Ministry offers 
to the young who are looking for the right place in which to work. 

II. But if you are thoughtful and worthy, you will find 
some difficulties and ask some questions. Let us help you 
to meet and answer them. 

1. What about a call ? Must I have a special call ? Our 
broad faith answers, You must be called to this, as to any work, 
by an earnest love of, and a fitness for, the work. 

Some may require unnatural and artificial tests. We do 
not. A. T. Stewart thought he was called to the Ministry. 
He studied to that end. He sought admission. They asked 
him if he had a call, and when he asked what were the signs, 
they were so described to him that he was sure nothing of 
the kind had come to him, and he was driven away to other 
work. A man who could build as no man has yet built in 
material things, might have proved a giant in the moral and 
spiritual world. He should not have been rejected. 

2. But much is said about being consecrated to the Min- 
istry and having the right motive. How can I be sure of 
these ? If your motives are pure and high, and you seek the 
Ministry for the good you can do and because you love God 
and would serve the truth, you can trust and follow your motives. 

Consecration is earnest devotion. This depends on the 
individual and his measure of experience. The child cannot 
be consecrated to the home as Father and Mother are. The 
young minister cannot know and feel all that fires the heart of 
the veteran of many hard fought battles for the Gospel of 
Christ. His motives cannot be the same, else experience and 
faithful service add nothing. Work consecrates and motives 
grow. A young man was attracted to the Ministry forty years 
ago, by the field it opened to him for discussion and contro- 
versy. He loved debate, and his reason was charmed by the 
argumentative battles of those days. But he grew to be one 



246 THE CHOICE OF A PROFESSION. 

of the tenderest, truest, most reverent souls the church ever 
knew. A lawyer, for want of a brief, was starved into preach- 
ing — not a high motive, you say. Yet years of faithful ser- 
vice would stop the mouth of any who questioned to-day, 
either his motive or his consecration. It might have been 
God's way of calling the young man to his rightful work, and 
consecrating him thereto. 

Jesus, when a boy, said : " Know ye not that I must be 
about my Father's business ? " He who thought of His great 
work as a business will not condemn the honest young man 
who, setting the Ministry by the side of other professions, 
chooses it as his business in life. 

The Ministry will welcome such an one, trusting that as he 
grows into the serious work of life, the Gospel will grow upon 
him and with him until it makes him a great apostle of truth 
and a faithful son of the Heavenly Father. 

Find the best motive you can, and follow it faithfully where- 
ever it leads. If the way is dark and the work is hard, it will 
lead at last to the light. 

3. " But must I go through the college and the theological 
school, and thus give six years of my best time before I begin 
my work ? " Yes, we answer — if you can. The best soldier 
will not go into battle half equipped if he can help it. He 
who is thoroughly furnished for his work will do vastly more 
and better work. The time spent in preparation that enlarges 
one's faculties and develops one's powers is a gain at every 
point. In these days knowledge is power in every profession. 
You must have it. It is easier to get it before than after you 
begin your work. 

4. " But the other professions are near at hand and I must 
be at work. My work is my bread and butter." We answer : 
The Ministry is as near you as any profession, and it yields as 
quick return. 

The road through the schools is the best road, but there is 
a road, direct from the plow, the bench, the shop or the home. 



THE CHOICE OF A PROFESSION. 247 

Peter and James and John took that shorter path, and many 
have gone that way since. 

Our West Pointers are the best and first ; but the volunteer 
will do some grand fighting. If you cannot reach the school, 
go to your pastor. His library will be your school, and he 
your teacher. He will share with you his knowledge, his work, 
his experience, and help you to the start you need. 

The way may seem closed to you and the difficulties insur- 
mountable. But do not turn aside. Go to your pastor or 
some faithful minister and tell him your difficulties. He may 
open the way and help you to surmount them. It is his 
privilege to do for others what has been done for him. If you 
have a great love for this work, cling to it and follow it, and 
the way will open. 

If you are easily turned aside from a great purpose, you are 
not worthy of any of the great professions. But if you are 
ambitious to do your best in the field best suited to your taste 
and abilities, the Ministry offers you the help you need. 

There are schools and scholarships and funds to help the 
young to a position of usefulness and strength. These you 
need not accept as charity, but as a trust, to be returned 
when convenient, that others may receive similar helpful service. 

5. Do you say you have seen unworthy men in the Ministry, 
and you do not wish to dishonor so noble a calling'? Yes, 
wherever the sons of God go, Satan goes also. You will find 
in every calling the unworthy. But you need not be like thern. 
You will find in the Ministry a noble band of brothers, a good 
company of workers, honest, earnest, helpful, who stand to- 
gether as brothers. Working with them, you will find warm- 
hearted sympathy, encouragement, strength. In the work you 
will find the best side of men and the brightest side of life. In 
this field there is full scope for the genius of a Beecher, the 
power of a Chapin, the love of a Fenelon and the intellect of 
a Bishop Butler. 

The best gifts bestowed upon a human soul are not too good 
to be employed in serving God and man. The Ministry asks 
nothing less. It can expect nothing more. 



CHAPTER XXI 



Work of the Laity : How Can Our Laity Best Serve 
the Church?* 



BY REV. J. G. ADAMS, D. D. 

How can our laity best serve the church ? The broad 
answer is, By pure and deep consecratio?i to its vital interests. 
And these are the building up of individual souls in truth and 
holiness — in the life of righteousness and love. The Christian 
Church stands for this one object. It preaches Christ, " warn- 
ing and teaching every man, that it may present every man 
perfect in Christ Jesus.*' 

i. The laity may help the church truly in seeking to sus- 
tain its worship service. As the temple service was an indis- 
pensable interest in the Jewish Church, so has the Lord's Day 
and its worship been one of the chief attractions in the Christian 
Church. The New Testament sets this fact plainly forth. 
That this Christian service was neglected and repudiated by 
multitudes, was one of the reasons why the Christians of the other 
days adhered all the more earnestly to it. That it is neglected 
now, is no reason why the alleged friends of the Christian cause 
should become indifferent to its demands. What have we to do 
with the world's indifference but to reprove it by our example 



* An address at the meeting of the Woman's Centenary Association 
in the Shawmut Universalist Church, Boston, 1885. 



HOW CAN THEY BEST SERVE THE CHURCH ? 249 

of fidelity ? To listen to the croakings of skeptics and doubters 
about the falling off of Christian congregations in these days of 
advanced thought, is a reproach to us as a Christian people. 
Many who thus talk do not know how largely the worship ser- 
vices of the various Christian sects are attended. It is a re- 
proach to us that there are so many who call themselves by 
our name, who are so negligent in the duty of promoting the 
worship-power of our churches. Frequently have we heard 
the statement, where there was a Universalist congregation on 
Sunday, that if all in the neighborhood or town who were will- 
ing to be classed with Universalists would attend the public 
worship services, the house would be filled in every part. 

No sect under the Heavens has a greater inducement to 
"worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness " than we. And 
no appeal comes with greater force to our laity than that in 
favor of honoring and sustaining the ministry in its endeavors 
to perpetuate this indispensable force in the Christian Church. 
To the end of time it will be needed, until men shall no 
longer have occasion to say to their fellow-men, " Know the 
Lord, for all shall know Him from the least to the greatest." 
The service should be a welcome one, opened by minister and 
people with responsive heart-words, in a simple form which all 
could use, so that the call of the Psalmist should be made 
significant : " Let all the people praise thee, O Lord, let all 
the people praise thee." With a lack of this interest on the 
part of our laity, our cause will languish ; with an increase of 
it, we shall strengthen and deepen our religious life and pros- 
perity. 

2. Our laity can do a hundredfold more than they are now 
doing for the cause by a deeper appreciation of our organized 
church institutions in connection with our parishes. I have 
no hesitancy in talking plainly on this subject, for I have been 
grieved with the manner in which it has been disregarded, 
through all my ministry, and yet I have reason to be humbly 
thankful that my endeavors in my different pastorates to build 



250 WORK OF THE LAITY. 

up the church institution have been in a good measure blest 
of the Lord. To Him be the praise ! But when I take 
another view I am surprised at the apparent want of apprecia- 
tion of the church institution on the part of our brothers and 
sisters, who would deem it a harsh judgment of themselves to 
be accounted indifferent to the true advancement and prosper- 
ity of our churches. When I have noted, year after year, how 
intensely our brethren were absorbed in the work of other 
associations — political, social, literary, scientific ; how regular 
in their attendance on the Masonic, or Odd Fellows, or Good 
Templars Lodges; how engrossed in the work of sustaining 
them (all well and honorable in their claims), while the Chris- 
tian Church and its objects and aims have been so lightly re- 
garded, so habitually neglected, I have had much to dishearten 
me in the midst of the many encouragements it has been my 
lot to enjoy. It is a shame that the church institution is so 
meanly treated by too many of our laity who ought to be its 
readiest and most ardent supporters ; that it has too often 
been represented by the few and often the fewest of our men 
and left to the fostering care of the minister and a band com- 
posed for the most part of faithful women. We have thought, 
preached and talked enough on this subject in our pulpits and 
periodicals and elsewhere to be wiser and better behaved in 
this respect. We have light enough now to see the way to a 
new order of action. The actual want in reference to the 
matter is good and true conscie?ices. No other churches should 
be more readily filled and constantly increasing in numbers 
from our homes, our congregations and our Sunday-schools, 
than our own. No amount of financial resources, or of mental 
ability, or respectable standing outside the church, can com- 
pensate for this delinquency on the part of so many of our 
alleged professed friends. And it is a subject pre-eminently 
claiming the truest and most faithful attention of our laity. 
Here is another means by which they can most effectually aid 
in the vital work of our church. 






HOW CAN THEY BEST SERVE THE CHURCH? 25 1 

3. There is the instrumentality of the prayer and confer- 
ence meeting constantly urging its claims upon our laity — an 
instrumentality which, with all the small talk about it, has been 
of significant service to other Christian churches. "The 
prayer-meeting," said a talented Methodist minister to me, 
" has been one of the most powerful forces in the spiritual 
growth and life of our church." Other sects have had reason 
to say as much. And no wonder. Such meetings are a New 
Testament institution. In the Book of Acts we are told that 
at the house of Mary, the mother of John (Mark), " many were 
gathered together praying;" and in the Epistle to the Colos- 
sians the direction is given that the Christian believers "teach 
and admonish one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual 
songs." All the preaching and praying and exhortation are 
not to be done by the minister, nor all the singing by quar- 
tettes and choirs. The people are to have a living interest in 
the exercises, and employ them as a means of their spiritual 
growth and life. It is a mutual work — something that be- 
lievers owe to each other. Dullness of routine need not be 
characteristic of them. They will not if our people enter into 
these religious exercises with loving, devout, earnest souls. 
That so many have nothing to say in these meetings, and leave 
the speaking to be done by a few of the same ones from time 
to time, is because of this fact — the lack of religious thought 
and speech from day to day. The heart can readily speak 
that of which it is full. If our friends would go to the prayer- 
meetings bearing with them in mind a few good passages of 
the Scriptures to be recited as occasion offered, this would be 
a profitable addition to the exercises. I have known those of 
our own churches who were deeply immersed in the business 
affairs of life, but who in the midst of all were ever in readiness 
to speak a ready and hearty word for their religion. It was as 
natural for them thus to speak as it was to breathe. Out of 
the abundance of such hearts we might have manifold more 
utterances in prayer and exhortation in these special meetings 



252 WORK OF THE LAITY. 

of our church. As I occasionally visit the prayer and confer- 
ence meetings of some other sects, I am struck with this fact, 
that those who take part in them seem to do so from the habit 
of religious thinking and conversation. Let our people fire 
themselves up with this healthful influence, and one great ob- 
struction would be taken out of our prayer and conference 
meetings. Let it be understood that we go to these meetings 
not to criticise, nor to hear set speeches, but to humble our- 
selves before God, to speak of His goodness and to implore 
His blessing upon us. Small speaking here may often be great 
speaking, and that which might be deemed poor, under some 
sharp critical judgment, an outflow bearing to some soul 
some share of "the unsearchable riches of Christ." 

As a minister, let me say that my own heart has often been 
thrilled and blest by such utterances coming from very un- 
pretentious sources, giving to me indisputable evidence of the 
Holy Spirit's power. To have a good conference meeting, 
carry one with you. " I had a glorious one," said a lay 
brother once to me, " had it all to myself as I came in the cars 
to this place." 

How much we hear in these days, especially among what 
are called liberal Christians of the " higher culture " which the 
churches need. I agree to this ; but with this explanation : 
that culture which comes of a full and far deeper baptism than 
our churches now have of the Holy Spirit of the living God. 
When this baptism comes — and God speed it — our lay meet- 
ings will no longer suffer from neglect or want of inspiration, 
but be among the lively assurances of our spiritual progress 
and strength. Laudable and advantageous work this for our 
laity! 

And the missionary enterprises ; what a field here opens 
before us for their occupancy ! We are not to hold, but to 
promulgate the truth of the Gospel. We are not to be afraid 
of the proselyting element. It is an eccentricity and not a 
sensible conclusion to think lightly of this work. No sect ever 



HOW CAN THEY BEST SERVE THE CHURCH ? 



■53 






did or ever can make progress without it. God does not so 
ordain. When His holy Son would commission His apostles in 
His own name to be witnesses of His truth, it was also that 
they should be its promulgators. " Go ye into all the world 
and preach the Gospel to every creature." All this spreading 
abroad of Christianity among the nations and through the ages 
has come of the proselyting as well as of the witnessing spirit. 
Our own sect has had much of its growth through this very 
agency. 

We need an interest in this work commensurate with the. 
worth and magnitude of our glorious faith, because of the 
world's great need of it, and because of what it can and will do 
for the world. Our churches need more than anything, I be- 
lieve, a missionary education. Too many of our people are 
absolutely asleep on the subject ; they manifest no enthusiasm 
respecting it whatever, and without enthusiasm you cannot do 
the missionary work of the Christian church. 

Home and foreign missionary work both have equal Claims 
upon us. Acquaintance with the missionary work of other 
Christian sects would be highly beneficial to our people. We 
ought to have in our homes and Sunday-school libraries, to aid 
us in this missionary education, some of the books and other 
publications descriptive of this enterprise, books like " Scenes 
from Mission Fields," by E. D. Moore ; Max Muller's 
" Lecture on Missions," with an Introduction by Dean Stanley; 
Canon Farrar's " Saintly Workers," and others which I might 
mention. They would minister grace to many readers who 
now but faintly realize what examples of Christian consecration 
and self-sacrifice they would find in the reading of them. 

I am thankful to see that the attention of our General 
Convention has been turned especially to this work, and that 
it has recommended and urged the forming in all our parishes 
and churches missionary associations for the educating of our 
young people in this laudable and holy calling. The work has 
been well begun in some of our churches, and I pray that it 



254 WORK OF THE LAITY. 

may find its zealous advocates in all of them. If our young 
people desire a church business in which their liveliest activi- 
ties may be called forth to the highest blessing of our whole 
church, let them enter with full hearts into this — the work of 
shedding everywhere, abroad, near and afar, the light of the 
Gospel of illimitable grace. There will be no doubt then of 
the significant presence and power of the Universalist Church 
in our own land, and ultimately in the whole world. With a 
field of such interest and inspiration before us, our laity as well 
as our ministry ought to hear the words of the apostle sounding 
in our ears and thrilling our hearts, " Ye see your calling, 
brethren!" I confess my sensitiveness in this matter. Since 
my entrance into the ministry I have not failed to make the 
missionary appeal a part of my work. And the longer I live 
the more need do I see that this appeal receive the true 
Christian response from our people everywhere. 

I confess that when the subject of our Home and Foreign 
Missions was urged so earnestly by Drs. Sawyer, Thayer and 
others at our State Convention in Franklin, I was not specially 
edified by the apparent lack of wakeful enthusiasm on the 
subject; and when the whole matter was referred to the 
General Convention for action, I was led to query if this was 
not placing the whole thing in a refrigerator. Time and facts 
will decide. I have been, as I said, encouraged by the 
recommendation of the Convention to form missionary associa- 
tions in all our parishes. But that this proposal be effective, 
there must be behind it a burning desire and intent to make 
the work a success. Our General Convention, composed as it 
is of new members, more of less every year, needs to have all 
of them well inspired in their knowledge and love of 
the great missionary enterprise of the Christian Church. We 
cannot afford to have ignorance and dullness in our conven- 
tions on this subject. A fresh and strong inspiration should 
go forth from every succeeding session of our National Con- 



HOW CAN THEY BEST SERVE THE CHURCH ? 255 

vention in behalf of the missionary claim and accomplish- 
ments of the Universalist Church. 

Woman's Centenary Association. 

While speaking this word in behalf of our missionary work, 
I cannot tail to offer an approving word of our Woman's Cen- 
tenary Association. Of all our other missionary movements, 
this, in my humble judgment, has been the most inspiring and 
effective. I am thankful that its work has had the tendency 
to uplift our missionary thought and to deepen its spirit. 
With this noble band of our women I have been intimate 
from the beginning of their united endeavors in this direction. 
If I do not speak their names now, I thank God for what I 
know of their works, their earnest and constant toilings, their 
sacrifices and prayers and anxieties; that they have proved to 
us, if in a comparatively small measure, the reality of the holy 
missionary spirit of the women of the Universalist Church ; 
that they have so ardently worked in our own home fields, and 
have set up in another land the first mission abroad, which, 
with all the cool doubts it has encountered by such as have 
lacked faith in its permanency, or enthusiasm in its behalf, 
has given us some of the richest items of missionary history 
our church has yet known. God bless now and henceforth the 
Woman's Centenary Association ! 

A few words as to the connection of entertainments and 
amusements with our church work. This is a subject which 
appeals directly to our laity. Their counsel in it is especially 
needed. Entertainments and amusements may be judicious 
accompaniments of other work, if Christian wisdom and pro- 
priety shall direct them. Not otherwise. The proportion of 
these interests ought to be carefully and justly made. Nine- 
tenths drama, literary club, concert, supper and dance to one- 
tenth religious culture, enjoyment and edification, is decidedly 
a mistaken, not to say stupid arrangement. The amusements 
are right in their places, and I enter no protest against them, 



256 WORK OF THE LAITY. 

only to say this, that, as I am obliged from honest conviction 
to regard it, a parish, or Sunday-school, or church dance, in 
whatever Christian name it may take place, is an unqualified 
offence against good Christian taste and older. I am glad 
that in treating this topic a while ago, the editor of one of our 
church journals, Dr. Emerson, had the good sense to head 
the article upon it with the significant appeal, " Right about 
face ! " This is precisely the attitude which our whole church 
should take in this particular. 

Time warns me that I must express in the fewest words 
what I now have to say on this exceedingly fruitful topic. 
Three other interests commending themselves to our laity I 
can only mention: 1. The education of our youth under the 
influences of our church ; in the secular and in the Sunday- 
school; the support of our academies and colleges in prefer- 
ence to all others, and the increase of our Sunday-school 
forces by addition of teachers who will bring in new scholars 
through their diligent searching for them. A recruiting service 
like this would be invaluable to us. A new and increased 
wakefulness in our homes is needful in educating our children 
and youth to attend the Sunday worship services. Governor 
Robinson truly said a few days ago in one of his addresses : 
"Where we are failing again is in keeping the children away 
from church. Children who can stand everything from Mon- 
day morning until Saturday night, including bicycles and 
tricycles and skating rinks, can endure going to church on 
Sunday. The Sunday-school is excellent, but attendance 
upon it is not enough; those children who do only that, step 
from it, not into the church, but out." Too true, indeed, is 
this statement. 2. The circulation of our church literature ; 
our church books and journals in far more families and homes 
where they would be passed into the hands of neighbors who 
may be enlightened and blest by them. " Circulate the 
documents" is a well-known recommendation in political 
circles. It is a good word to be followed up by our laity 



HOW CAN THEY BEST SERVE THE CHURCH? 257 

everywhere. 3. Contributions to our missionary work. This 
subject is just now making a special appeal to our parishes 
and churches. Collections every Sunday are asked for, and 
the call is a reasonable one. The willing answer to it will 
make us all richer and our cause all the stronger. It, or 
something equivalent to it, is indispensable to the supply of 
the present imperative demands of our church cause. 

These considerations I feel impelled to urge upon the laity 
of our church in all sincerity and fraternal affection. I have 
faith in their ability to comprehend their import. 

Dr. E. C. Bolles has somewhere said of certain ones who 
may be in our church as in all churches, that they are " im- 
penetrable conservatives, iron-clad to enthusiasm — grimly 
playing to themselves that it is very early in the nineteenth 
century still ! Nothing less than the electric currents of a 
thunder-storm will shake them." If we have such instances 
within our own denominational lines (I am strongly suspicious 
that we have), my heart's prayer is, that they may be most 
thoroughly shaken and aroused by the " electric currents " of 
the Holy Spirit, and converted to that Christian Universalism 
which is so signally put to shame by their spiritual drowsi- 
ness ! 

It is no time now for us to " stand still and see the salva- 
tion of the Lord." We have done enough of this ; I mean, 
too many of our people have. The " Universal Salvation " 
which they have had in mind has been the final condition of 
all souls hereafter j some " far-off divine event," and not a 
quickened conscience here — a saved soul now — a lively life 
in faith and active love to-day and every day — u a Heaven to 
go to Heaven in." Such standing still has often operated as a 
dry rot, eating out our spiritual vitality. The standing still 
might have answered in Moses' day, at the Red Sea. But we 
are over the Red Sea and out of the wilderness, or ought to 
be ; and it is high time we were getting into the promised 
land. May the Lord graciously aid us in our onward march ! 



CHAPTER XXII, 



The Conference Prayer-Meeting. 



BY REV. JOHN S. PALMER. 

We most earnestly maintain that we need the prayer and 
conference meeting in all our churches, where our full hearts 
can express our thanks to God for his blessings. This is one 
of the best helps in the prosperity of our Zion. Without it 
we may preach and preach, and our people will not be devout 
Christians. Each church member ought to feel that he has a 
responsibility in this matter — that the church relation means 
personal piety and a constant striving to do the Father's will. 
What is the Father's will ? It is to labor to make the society 
of earth — like the society of Heaven — pure in deed and pure 
in thought. In our prayer circles we pray for this ; and if we 
are faithful Christian workers, we shall know that our prayers 
are answered or fulfilled. 

Suppose all who profess our name — all who believe our 
faith — were heard to pray, "Thy kingdom come; thy will be 
done on earth as it is in Heaven," and that they all felt the 
fullness of the meaning implied in this short petition. What 
an effect would it have on all these praying Christians ? Why, 
it would set each one to work to bring about this happy con- 
summation. It would move the soul of each to do the will of 
God, which is that all shall be saved from sin and brought to 
the knowledge of the truth. It would take the thoughts from 






THE CONFERENCE PRAYER-MEETING. 259 

the fleeting dust of the earth, and place them on the Father 
and the glories of the immortal home. We know of nothing 
in religious effort which has a more benign influence than the 
prayer and the conference meeting. Its influence comes from 
the people and by the people it is felt. O that all our 
churches saw the importance of this, and that they were all 
harvesting the riches in thought and character these meetings 
promote ! 

Our prayer-meetings are not to reconcile God to us, but to 
reconcile us to Him. They are to create in us feelings and 
affections like those exhibited by our divine Master and 
Savior, who images to our minds our Heavenly Father. 
Those who have had an experience in this help in Christian 
work and culture know the benefit of it. But some may say 
that the weekly prayer and conference meeting is too much in 
the " style of the orthodox " to suit them. This used to be 
said of the Sabbath-school, but our experience as a church has 
proved the necessity of the Sabbath-school, and it will be a 
happy day when we prove the prayer and conference meeting 
to be a necessity in our progress as a church. This fact is as 
apparent as that of the Sabbath-school, and we urge this mat- 
ter upon our people as a necessity for the same reason that we 
would the Sabbath-school. Let a conference and prayer- 
meeting be immediately established in all our churches, 
and then carried forward with earnestness and in the gracious 
spirit of the gospel, and the fire of devotion will soon begin to 
burn on the altar of many souls now cold and devotionless. 
A new and better feeling will animate the life, and the example 
of our churches will be largely increased for good. We do 
not urge this to be like the self-called "orthodox," but for 
the religious benefit we should derive therefrom. We can 
pray in faith for the will of God to be done, but they cannot, if 
they believe their creeds. We can pray in faith for the last 
erring prodigal's return to his Heavenly Father, but their faith 
assures them that many millions never will return, but will 



26o THE CONFERENCE PRAYER-MEETING. 

endlessly suffer on the barren mountains of sin and error. If 
there is any people or church who can exhibit the power there 
is in prayer, we are that people — we are that church. We 
believe the Father hears and answers prayer. Our profession 
as Christians makes prayer a duty, and as our faith embraces 
the entire human race, we can pray for all men with the full 
assurance that all will be saved according to the good Father's 
will. 

Let us in all our churches establish the weekly prayer and 
conference meeting, and conduct them with a determined 
zeal and in the spirit of our gospel faith, and the world will 
soon acknowledge that we have been with Jesus and learned 
of Him. 

We also add with approval this : 

The Conference Meeting. 

The remark was recently made in the Leader that the con- 
ference meeting had lost ground, fallen off in interest, in the 
recent sessions of our Conventions, and it was said that an 
effort should be made to recover it, and that to this end there 
should be preparation. 

This remark has led not a few of our church people to ply 
us with questions. For example, we are asked : " Should the 
conference meetings held in the churches on week-day even- 
ings be occasions for preparation?" Another asks: "What 
do you think in regard to previous announcement of topics 
for the conference?" Yet a third : "Has not the amount of 
singing got to an excess which preponderates over the speak- 
ing?" Finally we are asked: "Should the minister do the 
bulk of talking?" 

Here is considerable work laid out for us. It would please 
us if our pastors or others trained to the pen would in brief, 
very brief communications enlighten our readers on the points 
raised. We are satisfied that the conference needs discussion. 

One point is clear to us, and we grow in the conviction that 



THE CONFERENCE PRAYER-MEETING. 26 1 

it is full of importance. We insist that there should be prepa- 
ration. By this we do not simply include, but we by no 
means make all inclusive, intellectual preparation. Devotion 
is the end and aim. Disputes, arguments, expositions, dis- 
sertations which do not directly and constantly aim at a de- 
votional impression — which are in such excess and prominence 
as to eclipse the proper end — it "goes without the saying" are 
wholly and violently irrelevant. 

But we do not go to the opposite and perhaps worse ex- 
treme, and imagine or hint or believe that a meeting of praise, 
prayer and exhortation can be thoughtless. Do not fancy 
that there is a situation in the world where any religious end, 
and practical end, is exclusive of doctrine. We cannot be 
brainless in anything good. 

This seems to be a connection in which to give our belief 
that the pastor should not only take the meeting in charge but 
that he should do the bulk of the work. It is for him to 
select the topic ; for him to think it out and to unfold it ; for 
him to press it home upon the minds and hearts of the people. 
We only add to reiterate : if there is not preparation, intel- 
lectual and spiritual, for the conference, the conference will 
have but a brief career. 

[We add : Let the laity be requested to take an active part 
in such meetings. Ed.] 

The Week-Day Work of the Christian Church. 



BY REV. W. F. POTTER. 

The Sunday work of the church, however efficient, is not 
enough. The activities of a religious organization ought not 
to be limited to bringing its members together one day 
in the week, engaging in a single service, perhaps two 
services, and then allowing the doors of the church to be 



262 THE CONFERENCE PRAYER-MEETING. 

closed for the next six days. Every church organization ought 
to be active during the week. It should mark out lines of work 
that will occupy the attention on other days besides Sundays, 
and it should utilize the church edifice for the purposes of 
week-day gatherings. He expressed his belief that young men 
often leave our churches because they want something to do 
in their spare time. Provide for them by having a reading- 
room in the house of worship, by having the church open 
every day and evening, with agencies for social, intellectual 
and moral improvement, and the class referred to will be held 
to the church, while the best results in other directions will 
surely follow. 



CHAPTER XXIII 



The Bible, and How to Read and Study it. 



The following passage on the Bible is taken from the 
Northern British Review : 

No volume ever commanded such a profusion of readers, or 
was translated into so many languages. Such is the univer- 
sality of its spirit, that no book loses less by translation ; none 
have been so frequently copied in manuscript, and none so 
often printed. Kings and nobles, peasant and pauper, are de- 
lighted students of its pages. Philosophers have humbly 
gleaned from it, and legislation has been thankfully indebted 
to it. Its stories charm the child, its hopes inspire the aged, 
and its promises soothe the bed of death. The maiden is 
wedded under its sanction, and the grave is closed under its 
comforting assurances. Its lessons are the essence of religion, 
the seminal truths of theology, the first principles and guiding 
axioms of political economy. Martyrs have often bled and 
been burnt for attachment to it. It is the theme of universal 
appeal. In the entire range of literature, no book is so fre- 
quently quoted or referred to. 

The majority of all the books ever published have been in 
connection with it. The Fathers commented upon it, and the 
subtle divines of the middle ages refined upon its doctrine. 
It sustained Origen's scholarship and Chrysostom's rhetoric; it 
whetted the penetration of Abelard and exercised the keen 
ingenuity of Aquinas ; it gave life to the revival of letters, and 
Dante and Petrarch revelled in its imagery ; it augmented the 



264 THE BIBLE : 

erudition of Erasmus and roused and blessed the intrepidity 
of Luther ; its temples are the finest specimens of architecture 
and the brightest triumphs of music are associated with its 
poetry. The text of no ancient author has summoned into 
operation such an amount of labor and learning, and it has 
furnished occasion for the most masterly examples of criticism 
and comment, grammatical investigation and logical analysis. 
It has inspired the English muse with her loftiest strains. Its 
beams gladdened Milton in his darkness and cheered the song 
of Cowper in his sadness. It was the star which guided 
Columbus to the discovery of a new world ; it furnished the 
panoply of British valor, which shivered tyranny in days gone 
by ; it is the Magna Charta of the world's regeneration and 
liberties. Such benefactors as Francke, NerT, Schwartz and 
Howard, the departed Chalmers and the living Shaftesbury, 
are cast in the mould of the Bible. 

The records of false religion, from the Koran to the Book of 
Mormon, have owned its superiority, and surreptitiously pur- 
loined its jewels. Among the Christian classics, it loaded the 
treasures of Owen, charged the fullness of Hooker, barbed 
the point of Baxter, gave colors to the pallet and sweep to the 
pencil of Bunyan, enriched the fragrant fancy of Taylor, sus- 
tained the loftiness of Howe and struck the deep-sounding plum- 
met of Edwards — in short, this collection of artless lines and 
letters has changed the face of the world and ennobled millions 
of its population. Finally — and to show the contrast — while 
millions bid it welcome, the mere idea of its circulation causes 
the Pope to tremble on his throne, and brings curses from his 
quivering lips. 

How to Read the Bible. 



BY REV. O. I. DARLING. 

* Understandest thou what thou readest ? How can I, except some 
man should guide me ? " — Acts viii. 30, 31. 

A college president was discussing celibacy with a clergy- 



HOW TO READ AND STUDY IT. 265 

man of a church which forbids its ministers to marry. The 
latter ended the conversation by appealing to Scripture, and 
quoted : 

" If any man come to me, and hate not his father and 
mother and wife and children and brethren and sisters, yea, 
and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple." Evidently 
the preacher had read the Bible : he could speak the words, 
but he utterly failed to understand them. 

Dr. Newman, in his " Phases of Faith, " speaks of another 
clergyman that had meditated selling his books and burning 
his sermons, with the intent of abandoning the ministry for 
a more profitable calling. To him the Bible was an oracle 
and its utterances decisive. Opening the book at random, 
his eye lit upon these words of Paul to Timothy, " Bring 
with thee the books, and especially the parchments." This 
settled the matter ; the church retained the services of her 
impressible minister. Did this one read to any better advan- 
tage than the other ? 

Something like three years ago, there was compiled a volume 
of "Selections from the Bibles of all Nations." On one 
page a chapter from the Koran ; then an extract from the 
writings of Confucius ; then the Sermon on the Mount ; next 
a page from the Vedas, and so on. The aim of the compiler 
was to introduce the sacred writings of the world to the 
English-speaking people, and show that the boasted superi- 
ority of the Hebrew Bible was a fiction. But against the suc- 
cess of the enterprise stand the words of the great authority 
in Comparative Religions — Miiller : " Real mischief has been 
done by the enthusiasm of those pioneers who opened the 
first avenues through the bewildering forest of the sacred 
literature of the East." " They contain much that is fresh, 
natural, simple, beautiful and true." Also " so much that is 
not only unmeaning, artificial and silly, but even hideous and 
repellent." The compiler had read the Bible, but failed to 
appreciate it. 



266 THE BIBLE : 

Here are three extreme instances. Granted that we shall 
not make such glaring blunders in reading the Bible : do we 
read it properly, understandingly ? Do we get from it new 
confidence, fresh charity, moral courage and spiritual strength ? 
Or are we dazed, wandering helplessly through history, proph- 
ecy, miracle, getting a little insight here and there, but 
finding no thread whereby we may unite our discoveries ? 
Judging from what I hear, this latter description is the more 
accurate. The old belief that the Scriptures in whole and in 
every part are the literal words of Heaven, this belief is well- 
nigh extinct. Whether for good or ill, we need not enquire ; 
enough that there has been a departure. The old book is 
still here ; it is here because people feel it to be worth some- 
thing ; they read it yet, if haply they may find its treasures, 
and their poor success arises from their poor method of read- 
ing. Let us go on together a little, and see if we can find 
the true method of Bible study. As a basis we may, I think, 
take for granted two things : the Bible contains the Word of 
God, contains it as the gold is contained in the ore ; the 
inspired writers worked unconsciously, i. e. f they did not sup- 
pose their writings would be collected and made the treatise 
of religion in after ages. 

i. To understand the Bible we must distinguish between 
a fact of history and a moral precept ; between what is told 
and what is commanded. We do not discriminate between 
history and doctrine, and hence we do not read aright. This 
is the great error in our study of the Bible ; this is the most 
fruitful source of confusion. It will be well to notice several 
examples of the two kinds of sayings, that we may clearly 
perceive the difference and be saved from this mistake. 

Paul writes to Timothy, " I suffer not a woman to teach " — 
in the church ; and in another place he says, " It is a shame for 
a woman to appear in a public assembly being unveiled." 
These are historic statements ; they relate what Paul did 
under the peculiar circumstances of Eastern life, as he went 






HOW TO READ AND STUDY IT. 267 

about founding churches. Whether we shall follow him in 
these respects, is for us to settle in the light of existing facts; 
historic statements can never bind us with the force of moral 
precepts. But in the letter to the Romans, he says, " Over- 
come evil with good f and this is a principle of conduct, and 
applies to all men throughout all time. Here we readily dis- 
tinguish history from doctrine. 

It is a matter of history that the early Christians met in 
simple, inexpensive places to worship. Sometimes an upper 
room served for their church. Whether we shall imitate them 
in this respect is for us to determine in view of our altered 
circumstances. But the basis of fellowship in the church is 
set forth as follows: " Let every one that nameth the name 
of Christ depart from iniquity;" and this is a moral precept 
and can never be disregarded. 

The primitive followers of Jesus practiced a community of 
goods: "No man said aught was his own, but division was 
made to every man, according as he had need." This is his- 
tory : whether we shall do thus depends upon the time and 
upon the teaching of past centuries. But in another place we 
read, " If a man see his brother in need, and shutteth his 
bowels of compassion, how dwelleth the love of God in him?" 
Here conduct is implied ; here is a principle of obligation that 
will be binding to the end of time. 

It is historically true that Jacob deceived his father, and 
many good souls have been troubled in thinking that the Bible 
countenanced this deception. By no means; it is an historic 
statement, and its being in the Bible is no cloak to its wicked- 
ness. But all the precepts on filial behavior are obligatory. 
" Honor thy father and thy mother;" this is commanded, this 
is a matter of doctrine. 

" The Son of man hath not where to lay his head." This 
has been interpreted that no minister should have a perma- 
nent home. It is mere history, and has no lesson for us. 



268 THE BIBLE : 

"Overcome the world." This is a command that comes to 
every man. 

From these examples we learn what our attitude should be 
as we read the two kinds of passages. Moral maxims are like 
thick ice — we can bear our whole weight; history, though use- 
ful, is like thin ice — we must tread softly, we must not put the 
great stress here ; if we do, we shall be immersed in troubles 
and forced back to morality, the solid ground of direct com- 
mand. Judgment, insight, a sense of proportion, these reveal 
what is history and what doctrine; and having made the dis- 
tinction, our reading of the Bible will yield a double profit. 
That Noah built a wine-press, that David danced before the 
Lord, that Solomon practiced polygamy, these things will 
cease to amuse, perplex or frighten us when once we learn 
that history is not a matter of present moral obligation. 

2. In speaking of St. Paul, I hinted at another help toward 
a right understanding of the Bible, but I count it of so great 
moment that I dwell upon it more minutely. We never read 
the Scriptures aright until we bear in mind the customs and 
standards that prevailed when these books were written. Let 
us suppose that we are able to distinguish history from com- 
mandment; now we shall fail in interpreting the history, we 
shall miss the point of the figures and illustrations unless we 
bear in mindj that these books were written in other lands, 
amid other surroundings. For example : you have read Lord 
Bacon's "Essays" and you have found many things hard to 
understand. The style is abrupt, involved; the illustrations 
taken from unfamiliar sources ; the quotations not always 
exact. In spite of these difficulties, you' have tried to under- 
stand Lord Bacon, for you have been assured there are great 
treasures in his works. You transported yourselves, as it were, 
to the seventeenth century; you divested yourselves of modern 
prejudice and prepossession; you listened quietly to the Great 
Philosopher and learned to understand him. His conclusions 
may not be yours; he did not communicate knowledge but 



HOW TO READ AND STUDY IT. 269 

power, and as you read you gained in wisdom, penetration, 
temper and judgment. To illustrate again: during the past 
year I have read sermons by Wesley, Murray, Emmons and 
Ghanning. Viewed as literature, the canons of taste now in 
vogue would condemn them all ; and were they preached to- 
day, they would not make one-tenth the stir they originally 
created. But when we realize the times in which they were 
written, their power is evident ; and we see these high souls, 
grieved at sin and inaction and illiberality, throwing their life 
into a crusade with all the strength that comes of a Heaven- 
born resolution. We must reproduce to ourselves the time in 
which the Book was compiled, or we lose its chief value. 
There are so many good things in it, that even a careless read- 
ing will leave some good impress on the mind ; but when we 
range ourselves with the children of Israel, look on ourselves 
as their contemporaries, the deciphering of the Scriptures is 
easier and our profit greater. An eminent Boston divine says 
that no suitable commentary of the Bible has ever been writ- 
ten, and that America has produced but two men — Longfellow 
and Emerson — fit to undertake the work. " Wherein lay their 
qualification ? They were poets ; they could in imagination 
reach back and realize that ancient, imperfect, religious life. 
If we cannot make commentaries we can use the imagination 
we have in aiding us to read the Bible. 

Read in this light, the greater of its grotesque features will 
vanish. It seems strange, does it not, to read that the "Lord 
God walked the earth," commending and reproving people. 
The form of the statement is archaic, but the fact that God 
works here on earth, reproving one and commending another, 
according to conduct, that is eternally true. It seems absurd 
to think God could require Abraham to sacrifice his son Isaac; 
but is it not true that duty often demands the sacrifice of that 
we hold most dear? Let us not dull our teeth working on the 
husks of these things; let us get to the kernel. The precise 
form of the trial or command is of small moment and may be 



270 THE BIBLE : 

held in reserve ; but the fact that God did prove the ancient 
Hebrews is not to be doubted, and it becomes increasingly- 
evident as we apply to the record the historic imagination. 

One word more upon this point. It has become a truism 
that men in a feeble state of development must be led along 
gently, gradually, as scholars, and not as full-grown, intellect- 
ual men. Any educator, any missionary knows this. A true 
system of education begins with what the senses can discover, 
and then goes on to what the reflective powers can 
accomplish. May not this apply to God's dealing with the 
Hebrews ? Did he not teach them at first by a natural, visible 
method, and then adopt a spiritual, invisible one ? Such, at 
least, is my conclusion. Read in the light of ancient stand- 
ards, the Bible teems with fresh power ; and we see that if 
God wishes to bring savage, ignorant, beastly men to a higher 
plane, it is creditable to Him, and not degrading, that He stoops 
to their weak condition. 

3. But one other hint seems necessary : it comes naturally 
after the other two. We have seen that History is one thing, 
Doctrine another ; we have seen that the History of ancient 
days must be interpreted according to the needs and capacities 
of the peoples of those times ; we need further to bear in 
mind that the moral and spiritual power of the Bible is what 
commends it for our perusal. I have seen and talked with 
men that were supposed to know the Bible ; men who had 
read it through half a dozen times ; who could mass all the 
texts in favor of their views at a moment's notice, yet were 
pitiably ignorant of the real treasures of the Book. On the 
other hand, some uninstructed person, who believes Moses 
and David and John and Paul wrote in the English language, 
may have a better hold upon the wealth of the Bible than 
some who can converse about it for hours together. We must 
read with a certain end in view, viz. : to gain moral and 
spiritual power. If we go to the Bible for facts, knowledge, 
information, we shall return empty handed. Paul in his 



HOW TO READ AND STUDY IT. 27 1 

second letter to Timothy speaks of the Scriptures being "able 
to make one wise," to impart wisdom is their office. Wisdom : 
what is it ? Many facts ? 

Knowledge comes, but wisdom lingers, 

sings Tennyson, and observation confirms him. A clear mind, 
a just judgment, a true conscience, a strong will, to have these 
is to have wisdom, and the Bible yields these elements of wis- 
dom. Read it for its moral and spiritual power. Do you 
ask, " Is this power present in these antiquated writings ? " In 
reply, let me quote an item of missionary news that is going 
the rounds of the religious press. A missionary had taught a 
tribe some English, and one day read to them the first chapter 
of Romans. It describes the natural man, and the description 
is not a flattering one. The chief was highly enraged, and said 
to the missionary, "You wrote that since coming amongst us, 
for it is an exact description of us, as you found us." Does 
not this prove Coleridge's famous saying, "The Bible finds me, 
as no other book can ? " There is power in these aged words of 
the far-off Hebrews. To them was entrusted an idea ; religion 
became a passion ; they delved in the mind which God gave 
them, and so successfully did they work that whatever is done 
in the realm of morality and spiritual life is lost to glory, if it 
be done in defiance of what they accomplished. Did you ever 
hear of a philosopher or a sculptor treating with disdain the 
Greek philosophy or the Greek art? No ; and to-day modern 
metaphysics and sculpture refresh themselves from those ancient 
founts. Did you ever hear of a painter treating with contempt 
the work of the Italian masters ? No \ and to-day no artist 
js considered competent till lessons have been taken in sight of 
the world's masterpieces. Did you ever know a musician to 
toss scornfully aside the work of the German composers, and 
begin music on another and different basis ? Never ! Men draw 
their power from the people that have displayed power, and 
whatever is done in ignorance or in defiance of the moral and 



272 THE BIBLE : 

spiritual truths wrought out in the Bible must of necessity be 
defective. 

And yet, what I said before, in another connection, must be 
emphasized here : there is a higher and lower even in these 
spiritual matters. The words of Christ and the words of Peter, 
both are strong, but they are of different degrees of strength ; 
both will aid us to be wise, but the help of the one is quite hu- 
man, that of the other quite divine. Luther and all the religious 
leaders have noticed that the Bible is not equally valuable ; 
it has meat for men ; it also has milk for babes. 

You ask, " Are there no parts of the Scripture quite value- 
less ? " Perhaps so. But the worthless sections are not the 
ones you think. The minute description of the tabernacle, 
the chronicles of the tribes — I do not see how these can yield 
any truths pertinent to our experience. But the miracles are 
to me no stumbling-block ; is it not rather a source of strength 
to believe that some power mightier than nature can interfere, 
not to disturb men and nations, but to show that spirit is 
above matter and that the earthly is subject to the heavenly? 
Even the book of Jonah is full of power. Read in the light 
of my suggestions, it tells us that God is not the God of the 
Jews alone, but also of the heathen ; He sends a helper to them ; 
they reform and are held up as models to Zion. Here is 
God's Fatherhood and Man's Brotherhood ; here, too, is the 
doctrine that "the last may become the first." The book of 
Jonah is a protest against exclusiveness and a voice in favor 
of Faith, Hope and Charity. The Bible will make us wise if 
we read it aright. Whatever of unreality it contains need not 
disturb us. Miners seek for gold and care not for the worthless 
sand that happens to be near by. Grant that others wrought 
righteousness and can give us strength, we still find our best 
aid in the Hebrew Scripture : 

" It does not lessen what He taught, 
Or make the gospel Jesus brought 
Less precious, that his lips retold 



HOW TO READ AND STUDY IT. 273 

Some portion of that truth of old ; 
Denying not the proven seers, 
The tested wisdom of the years ; 
Confirming with his own impress 
The common law of Righteousness. 
We search the world for truth : we cull 
The good, the pure, the beautiful 
From graven stone and written scroll, 
From all old flower-fields of the soul, 
And, weary seekers of the best, 
We come back laden from our quest 
To find that all the sages said 
Is in the Book our mothers read." 



The Bible writes hope over the darkest fields of life. 
Man, above all things, needs hope, and the Bible is the charter 
of hope, the message of the God of Revelation, who alone is 
the God of hope. — Canon Westcott. 



CHAPTER XXIV. 



The Debt of Religion to Science and of Science to 
Religion. 



BY REV. JAMES FREEMAN CLARKE, D. D. 

Cor. xii : 8. — "To one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom ; 
to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit." 

The subject to-day is this : "What does religion owe to 
science, and what does science owe to religion ? " 

Religion and science are like two neighbors, living side by 
side in mutual friendliness and helpfulness. Science helps 
religion, enlarges its views, brings it down from speculation 
to reality, teaches it to verify its doctrines by experience. Re- 
ligion awakens the soul to a sense of responsibility, rouses 
the thirst for knowledge, gives impulse to progress and so 
animates science with a higher life. But it is sometimes 
thought these two neighbors are on bad terms with each other; 
and so we read about the " Conflict between Science and Re- 
ligion." There is no such conflict, and cannot be, for one 
kind of truth cannot be at war with another. Science means 
truth as seen in nature ; Religion means truth as seen in the 
human soul and the human life. It is, however, sometimes the 
case that while the heads of neighboring households are on 
friendly terms, there may be quarrels between the children 
of the two families. There are foolish scientists who despise 
religion and think it outgrown ; and there are foolish relig- 
ious people who think science dangerous. Little Tommy 



AND OF SCIENCE TO RELIGION. 275 

Christian says that Willie Science is a bad boy, and will not 
go to church ; and little Willie Science says that Tommy 
Christian is a fool, who cannot do his sums correctly. But 
the fathers and mothers of the two families may be, mean- 
time, living in perfect harmony. 

Instead of conflict, I wish to speak of the help rendered 
by religion to science, and science to religion. And first let 
us see what science has done for religion. 

Science has enlarged our conception of God by enlarging 
our conception of the universe. Before science did this, our 
little world was considered to be in the centre of creation, 
and it was believed that the sun, moon and stars revolved 
around it every twenty-four hours. Our little planet was the 
most important place which God has created, and the Lord 
was supposed to have this for his chief care. But astronomy 
came and showed us that the earth was one among myriads 
of planets ; the sun only one of many million suns ; our world 
but a speck in the heavens. And so with the growth of the 
universe grew our idea of its creator and governor. This 
will, sooner or later, render impossible such beliefs as that 
the God of all worlds died on the cross in Judea to make 
atonement to Himself for the sins of men. 

And as astronomy has wonderfully widened out our con- 
ception of space, so geology has equally increased our knowl- 
edge of time. Once it was supposed that about six thousand 
years ago all things were made in six days. But geology 
shows a long succession of epochs, of hundreds of thousands 
of years, in which our earth was being slowly formed to be- 
come the home of man. Science has proved that about a 
hundred millions of years may have elapsed since the planet 
was sufficiently cooled down to support vegetable life. And 
these vast periods, which confound the imagination when it 
tries to realize them, are but as a moment of time to the 
eternity of the Supreme Being. 

Again, science has helped theology by its doctrine of uni- 



276 THE DEBT OF RELIGION TO SCIENCE 

versal law. It is profoundly convinced that the kingdom 
of nature is a kingdom of law ; that it constitutes a 
vast order, in which nothing comes by accident or ca- 
price. This great order is subject to no violation or 
interruption. What seems a miracle to us is only a rev- 
elation of some higher law before unknown. This con- 
ception, adopted by theology, takes away the thought of 
God as acting otherwise than by wise and benign law. With 
Him there is no change or shadow of turning ; no repenting 
that he had made man ; no capricious selection of some favorite 
races or individuals for special blessings. These views, which 
belonged to the infancy of religion, are being dispelled by 
science and replaced by a nobler conception of the Deity. 
We see God now as a perpetual creator, not waking and rest- 
ing, not coming and going, but living in all life, maintaining 
all existence ; the security and shield of His creatures, in the 
midst of a vast and unchanging order, working without haste 
or rest in His continual, all-pervading activity. And this, 
again, gives us a higher and nobler view of the Deity. 

Science has also helped theology by its careful methods of 
examination and verification ; by its simple devotion to facts 
and reality. It has thus quickened the sense of truth every- 
where. It has caused theology to look at the facts as they are, 
not as it wishes them to be. The sin of much religious teach- 
ing in the past has been a tendency to pious frauds ; to teach 
what seemed effective and impressive, without regard to its 
truth or falsehood ; to do evil that good may come. The seri- 
ous devotion of science to the realities of things has reacted in 
a wholesome way on theology, and inspired it with a pro- 
founder regard for simple truth and plain fact. 

In teaching the unity of nature and the perseverance of law, 
science has also dispelled many evils and superstitions founded 
on the notion of supernatural interference. It has put an end 
to the belief in witchcraft, once so universal ; it has destroyed 
belief in Satan as a terrible and fatal enemy in our midst. It 






AND OF SCIENCE TO RELIGION. 277 

has relieved the soul from a multitude of dreadful fears, and 
has taken away some of the blackest shadows that have rested 
on the human mind. Let us be grateful to science for such 
gifts as these — that it has made religion more reasonable and 
humane, and enabled us to trust in the unchanging and eternal 
wisdom of the all-perfect Being, from whom, and through 
whom, and to whom, are all things. 

And now let us ask if science owes anything to religion, 
and if so, what? 

Religion, in our day, and in civilized lands, means Chris- 
tianity. All other religions are in a state of arrested develop- 
ment; this alone is progressive, forgetting the things behind, 
reaching out to those before. This religion is ever new and 
ever young. It is fresh as on Creation's day. It has had its 
periods of inaction, its winters of discontent, its lapses into 
epicurean self-indulgence, or Hindoo asceticism, or Pharisaic 
formalism. It has run into Greek speculation, or made for 
itself a kind of Egyptian hierarchy. But it has shown that it 
could renew its youth, throw off the corruptions of the past 
and make itself a new man in Christ Jesus. After a long 
winter of cold and storm and a reluctant spring, all the little 
buds and shoots seem to say to each other, "Come! let us 
wait no longer; let us agree to go out into the warm sun and 
air." And so thousands of little leaves appear trembling in 
the breath of the South ; the grass hurries up, the violets send 
their fragrance from the meadow, and a new summer has 
come. So religion renews its youth and brings fresh life to 
the soul. And this, like the other, is the life of God. One is 
the life of God in nature, the other the life of God in the 
human heart : 

" Earth, sea, His presence feels ; nor less 

If yon ethereal blue 
With its soft smile the truth confess, 

The heavens have felt it, too, 
The inmost heart of man, if glad, 

Partakes a warmer cheer, 
And eyes that cannot but be sad, 

Let drop a brighter tear." 



278 THE DEBT OF RELIGION TO SCIENCE 

Such a wave of summer life flowed over Europe with the 
Lutheran Reformation ; and not only was there a revival of 
religion, but the new faith created a new growth in art, science 
and literature. The new heavens made a new earth. Free- 
dom gained by religion won freedom for thought in all other 
directions. Men of science had seldom been willing to be 
martyrs for the truth. The great Galileo allowed himself to 
be silenced by the inquisition. But Martin Luther defied 
Papal brief and imperial ban, and said, " Here I stand; I can- 
not do otherwise." He stood up for his convictions in spite 
of all danger, and so won freedom for science also. The free- 
dom which is the boast of science it did not win for itself ; it 
was conquered for it by religion. Luther demanded, in the 
interest of religion, freedom of inquiry, freedom of speech, 
freedom of thought ; and science has entered into his labors 
and enjoyed their fruit. 

Freedom needs to be won by martyrdom. Men must be 
willing to die for the truth before they can break down the 
opposition of prejudice, bigotry, and what Shelley calls " the 
anarch, Custom." It takes religion to make martyrs. Sci- 
ence does not often produce them. Scientific men will 
renounce wealth and ease, will labor on in poverty and neg- 
lect, to perfect their discoveries. But they are not as ready 
to die for the truth as religious believers are. And the blood 
of martyrs is not only the seed of the church but the power 
which opens a highway for advancing truth. 

Religion also helps science by creating an interest in truth. 
The root of scientific discovery is fed by the conviction that 
truth exists, that it can be discovered, and that it has a value 
in itself apart from its use and application. Many discoveries 
have been made before anyone saw how they could be applied 
to human uses. When the connection between electricity 
and magnetism was first observed, no one foresaw the vast 
practical application which would be made of this discovery in 
the telegraph and the electrotyping process. The love of truth 



AND OF SCIENCE TO RELIGION. 279 

for its own sake, which is the glory of science, does not come 
from any materialistic view of the universe. It is born out of 
faith in the infinite. It comes when we see in all truth a 
revelation of God. It was proclaimed by the apostle when he 
said, " God is light ; and in Him is no darkness at all." The 
old Theosophic doctrine that God is an abyss of darkness, and 
the modern Agnostic doctrine that nothing can be known of 
God except His existence, are powerless to produce the en- 
thusiastic love of truth for its own sake, which is essential to 
the progress of discovery. It is the sight of something divine 
in beauty which makes the true artist, and it is the sight of 
something divine in truth which makes the true man of science. 
And this, again, comes from a religious faith in the infinite, 
the unseen, the eternal, as the source and foundation of the 
infinite, the seen and the temporal. 

But while science needs for its soul and spirit this joy and 
truth, as something divinely beautiful in itself, it also needs as 
its encouragement the sight of its successful application to 
human needs and wants. The great discoveries of science 
have gone into human life, have had their popular ap- 
plication to the needs of men, have tended to diffuse 
comfort more widely, and to give to the many what 
formerly was enjoyed by the few. The discovery of print- 
ing, of the mariner's compass, of steam-power, of the 
power-loom, of the telegraph and locomotive, of the 
power-press, have diffused comforts and luxuries among the 
masses. All tend to the elevation of the many. The laborer 
who rides in a railway car has a means of locomotion that no 
monarch possessed fifty years ago. The hard-working mother 
who has photographs of her children might be envied by the 
ladies of the last century, who paid great sums for a miniature 
by Malbone and Isabey. The English day-laborer has on his 
table bread made of American flour which Queen Elizabeth 
would have been thankful for ; and his children wear garments 
of American cotton surpassing in comfort the clothing of the 



280 THE DEBT OF RELIGION TO SCIENCE 

fine ladies of the seventeenth century. But what has pro- 
duced this tendency to the diffusion of comforts among the 
masses of men? It is the sense of the infinite value of every 
human soul ; it is the aroused feeling of the dignity of human 
nature. Just as we have found the spirit of science to consist 
in the love of truth as truth, so we find its applications in the 
love of man as man. Mankind is aroused from its torpor, is 
made desirous of progress, is led to seek advantages for itself 
as it recognizes within its immortal nature and destiny. When 
Jesus said to His disciples, ■■ Go into all the world, and preach 
the gospel to every creature;" when he went among publicans 
and sinners, and made it a proof of his divine mission that 
"the poor had the gospel preached to them;" when Peter 
declared, " God hath shewed me that I should not call any 
man common or unclean ;" when Paul said, " not many wise, 
not many noble were called, but that God had chosen the 
foolish things of this world to confound the wise, and weak 
things of this world to confound the mighty ; and base things 
of the world, and things which are despised, hath God chosen, 
yea, and things which are not, to bring to naught those that 
are " — then were planted the seeds of the worth of man as man. 
wjiich have grown up into the faith that all men are equal be- 
fore God, and have a right to every opportunity for progress 
and improvement. Take away this faith in the inherent worth 
of man ; substitute for it the notion which is growing popular 
among some scientists,that to try to raise the weak, the down -trod- 
den and the outcasts is a mistake, that you ought to make the 
strong stronger, and let the inferior class die out, and you lose 
one of the mightiest motives for universal progress. The final 
outcome of this doctrine would be a world full of self-satisfied, 
self-complaisant epicureans ; and whether this would be the 
survival of the fittest is at least doubtful. 

Out of this Christian faith in the worth of the human soul 
has come the chief motive for founding schools, libraries and 
colleges. All of these were at first founded by religion and 



AND OF SCIENCE TO RELIGION. 28 1 

dedicated to Christ and the church. Education in all its 
forms has been the result of Christian effort to elevate and in- 
struct the mass of men. By this education, by the knowledge 
thus imparted, science has been fostered ; in this soil it has 
taken root. 

The universities of Europe were founded by religion ; the 
common schools of America were established by Puritans, 
who, poor and hardly able by their toil to support life, were yet 
determined that their children should be able to read the Bible. 

Science, as science, knows nothing of God, duty or im- 
mortality. Religion, as religion, knows nothing of scientific 
discovery or natural law. The one is concerned with things 
seen and temporal ; the other with things unseen and eternal. 
But each needs the other for its own fullest life. Religion, 
if it deals only with things unseen, becomes monkish, narrow 
and weak. It needs the wonderful discoveries and inventions 
of science in order to understand the beauty and glory of the 
world in which God has placed us. Science, without religion, 
loses by degrees its motive to progress. Without the religious 
faith that there is a divine presence in all things, the world be- 
comes a mere mechanism and routine. Without faith in the 
immortal progress of the soul, it does not seem very worth while 
to pursue human improvement here. We need the conviction 
of our infinite destiny to make our finite life worth living. 
We need a great hope for our inspiration. Man is too great 
to be satisfied with only earthly expectations. Give him only 
time, and he does not care for time. Earthly and heavenly 
hopes must go together, in order that either shall be sufficient. 
The idea of right must be made absolute, infinite and supreme, 
in order to lift man above himself, and make him a fellow- 
worker with God. This science opens always a wider sphere 
for religious activity and endeavor, and religion becomes ever- 
more the inspiration of science. The foolish children of these 
families may have their little quarrels, but the two great house- 
holds of knowledge and faith must always live together in 
mutual help and peace. 



CHAPTER XXV. 



Church Records and Statistics. 



It is a matter of much regret that many who are entrusted 
with keeping the records of churches and Sunday-schools and 
of forwarding the statistics to the rightful authorities, are care- 
less and indifferent in regard to this very important phase of 
our work ; and for this reason we give place to the following 
paper, hoping that those whom it may concern will see more 
clearly the necessity of accuracy and promptness in keeping 
and sending in reports whenever required by those who are 
gathering the facts and figures so much needed for our conven- 
tions, and to enable our denominational year-book to rightly 
represent the status of our cause. Let each local organization 
see that this work is attended to promptly, and the result will 
be highly beneficial to our church. 



Church Statistics. 



BY REV. H. W. RUGG. 

I am asked to speak on Church Statistics. I realize that 
the subject is the driest of all possible themes. To the average 
mind its very mention induces melancholy, and there is, there, 
fore, a very natural avoidance of what tends so much to wear- 
iness of the flesh and depression of the spirit. How often on 



CHURCH RECORDS AND STATISTICS. 283 

the occasion of some public meeting have I seen a hall or 
church nearly emptied when a secretary has begun the reading 
of a statistical report. And yet there is a strange, weird fas- 
cination which attaches to the subject of facts and figures, so 
that with all their unattractiveness they sometimes fix the at- 
tention as that which is mysterious and awe-producing. 

Statistics are like Ezekiel's valley of dry bones in this re- 
spect, as well as by that other line of comparison which is most 
obvious. The bones in the valley were exceeding dry, and all 
the more mysterious, therefore, was the question presented : 
" Can these bones live ? " 

If I may find a hint for my talk this morning in the refer- 
ence made, it will be to this effect, that dry as the subject of 
Church Statistics is, possibly there may be an outcome of life 
and good from such a source. The field may be rather an 
unpromising one, yet there may be some gleanings therefrom 
which are well worth our gathering ; for it cannot be denied 
that facts and figures as connected with any undertaking, and 
especially any associated work, have a value. They are alike 
interesting and instructive ; they offer the only sure basis of 
intelligent deductions and comparisons ; they are suggestive 
in manifold ways, and sometimes they are impressive even be- 
yond the power of eloquent words. 

Church Statistics become thus of special importance. It is 
not, indeed, that the largest and best work of a church is 
expressed in any formal enumeration, or that the best results 
of Christian service are noted in a record. It is not by facts 
and figures that tell of numbers, expenditures, the identifica- 
tion of persons with a movement or an association, that the 
spiritual progress of a church is indicated. None the less, 
however, is it worth our while to have the statistical record, 
and to pursue orderly, business-like methods in the doing of 
church work and the keeping an account of what is done. 
A man would be held to deserve but little success in material 
things if he should keep no books — if he would not collect 



284 CHURCH RECORDS AND STATISTICS. 

and preserve the facts relating to his business transactions. 
And so it is of consequence that a religious organization should 
keep an accurate record of its doings — should carefully note 
in some enduring form the important facts — the interesting 
and suggestive figures — that will serve to show what its con- 
stituency was, and in some degree what their undertakings 
were, and what the tangible results of their associated work. 

Such a comprehensive, accurate church record is often 
needed as evidence to determine matters that may be of con- 
siderable importance. It is needed as the basis of Church 
history, that the progress of the individual organization or the 
denomination may be properly traced. It is needed that 
there may be a good understanding of means and resources in 
hand, that gains or losses may be noted, that comparisons may 
frequently be made between one period and another, so allow- 
ing the word of encouragement to be spoken or the note of 
warning to be sounded. By recording facts and making a 
careful statistical exhibit, interest in the church will be aug- 
mented, or at least there will be a tendency to regard the 
organization with more favor as it is seen to be attentive to 
matters of detail, and seems determined to make an enduring 
record of what it is doing from year to year. 

If there is this place and need of statistical information — 
of full and complete church records — the practical question 
comes next, How are we, as a people, equipped in this respect ? 
But poorly, it must be confessed. With all the attention that 
has been given to the matter of Church Statistics — especially 
since 1870 — we yet lack the facts and figures to determine ac- 
curately our denominational condition, and to give us a sure 
basis for comparisons and profitable inferences. If parish rec- 
ords were carefully kept there is no doubt that great advantages 
would be derived from the statistical exhibit obtainable from 
these primal sources. As it is, the records of a large number 
of the organizations in our communion are fragmentary and 
imperfect ; hence we get Convention reports and official ex- 



CHURCH RECORDS AND STATISTICS. 285 

hibits, which necessarily contain not only the inaccuracies that 
come from first-hand, but estimates that are often sadly mis- 
leading. Defective records by the local church lead to 
defective returns by secretaries and others, while the want of 
exact information leads to the jumping at conclusions, which 
is about the last thing that should be done in the preparation 
of any statistical document intended to have value. 

It is not difficult to state what we have and what we have 
not in this matter. We have a great deal of neglect and in- 
difference on the part of both ministers and people in the 
gathering and preserving of church statistics. Some there are 
who act as if they thought the organization was only temporary, 
and that it was hardly worth while to give much attention to 
preserving the record of its history. So it is there are churches 
and parishes unable to fix the date of their organization, 
or to show a complete list of those who have been office- 
bearers in the society or the communion of believers. In 
some of our prominent churches it is difficult to trace the 
organization beyond a certain time; everything beyond that 
is doubtful and obscure, and there is only uncertain tradi- 
tion to point the way. 

Even where there has been an effort to keep full and reliable 
records, there has often been a want of system, or the plan has 
been defective in important particulars — most certainly there 
has been no unity of thought and effort in what has been done 
in the way of gathering and preserving statistical information. 
Each parish has noted down in its own way, according to the 
form approved by some individual member, the things it has 
thought expedient to put on record. And this is the practice 
that now prevails. The parish of which I am pastor keeps 
several record books. The Clerk of the Society Organization 
keeps a book in which he records the proceedings of the 
annual meeting of the corporation, and of any special meet- 
ings, together with the business that is transacted at the 
quarterly or other meetings of the trustees. The Treasurer 



286 CHURCH RECORDS AND STATISTICS. 

keeps a book in which receipts and expenditure — the purely 
financial features of the Society's work — are entered. The 
Clerk of the Church of Believers keeps a record of the meetings 
of the church, and also of baptisms and admissions to the church. 
As the Sunday-school is under the care and control of the 
church, he records the names of officers and teachers in the 
school, and the number of teachers and pupils in attendance 
from Sunday to Sunday. The pastor keeps a book, not under 
direction of parish or church, however, in which he records 
marriages, deaths, christenings and some other items of like 
interest. He also keeps a register of the families belonging 
to the parish. 

This plan, in substance, is the accepted one in many of our 
parishes. It has value, though it lacks in simplicity and fails 
to accomplish all that is desired. It does not bring together 
in one form of presentation the facts and figures most important 
in showing the history of the organization — its material and its 
work. It does not provide for the recording of some essential 
things as a matter of parish or church obligation and pos- 
session. 

Is there not a call for an improved system ? In the belief 
that a better plan might be devised and better results secured, 
the trustees of the General Convention have caused to be 
prepared, and the Publishing House has published, a " Parish 
and Church Record," intended to meet a need generally felt, 
and to open the way for unity of procedure in the keeping and 
arranging of such matters as properly appertain to the history 
of a church. 

The book thus prepared and now ready for use does not 
cover the entire ground. It is not intended to be a substitute 
for the books now kept by the officers of parish and church, 
but rather to supplement these, and provide for the preserva- 
tion of important items that are now neglected. 

The new book is of very simple and concise arrangement. 
Its head-lines show at a glance what is called for and the 



CHURCH RECORDS AND STATISTICS. 287 

proper place of entry. It includes, in the ordinary form 
adapted to the average parish, only about two hundred pages, 
and yet it provides a place of record in which to give a list of 
the ministers of the parish, the important officers of the same, 
the deacons of the church, superintendents of the Sunday- 
school, delegates to conventions and others identified in some 
special way with the work of the several organizations. It 
provides for a complete registry of the families of the parish, 
showing the time when they first became connected with it, and 
the time when they withdrew or died. It provides for a like 
record of church membership, and in separate divisions gives 
the lists of baptisms, christenings, marriages and deaths. It 
does not call for a financial record, save in respect to 
benevolent and church work. Here, where there has been 
such neglect to note the facts and figures, provision is made 
for entering all sums contributed as charitable and denomina- 
tional offerings. 

Thus I have indicated the scope and purpose of this new 
system of registry. I believe if it comes into general use, we 
shall be helped as a body in this matter of gathering and pre- 
serving the important material of church history. I think the 
plan is a practicable one and easily carried out at trifling ex- 
pense. 

But the system will not work itself, nor will the mere pur- 
chase of a " Book of Record " suffice. There must be interest 
and attention on the part of both minister and parish. It will 
be better in most cases, that the Record shall be kept by the 
pastor ; but a minister is not always the best person for such a 
work, and not infrequently a layman may be selected, a busi- 
ness man interested in the church and a lover of details, who 
will keep the record according to its design. In any case it 
should be understood that the book is the property of the 
parish, and that whoever keeps the same is only its custodian 
for the time. 



CHAPTER XXVI. 



Causes Retarding the Growth of Universalism : 
A Plea for Better Methods. 



Although Universalism was a prominent doctrine among 
the church fathers during the three or four centuries immedi- 
ately succeeding the advent of Christ, being held and advo- 
cated by many of the most pious and learned of the Christian 
teachers of that day ; and although from that time to this all 
lands have had their witnesses to this "eternal hope;" and 
although its Prophets and exponents have ever gone to the 
Bible and especially to Christ and his Apostles to receive their 
sanction and inspiration for its promulgation ; yet its modern 
believers seem not to have been sufficiently numerous to make 
it an organized force until 1783, when the first Universalist 
church was built in Gloucester, Massachusetts. 

Rev. John Murray,* having heard Relley of London preach 
Universalism, was led* to re-read his Bible to see if it sanc- 
tioned such a hope ; and he arose from that examination with 
the assured conviction that Universalism was the revealed 
truth of God. In a manner, and under circumstances which 
seem marvelous and providential, he came to America and 
preached this so-called "new" doctrine, in 1770, in a church 
which was built by one John Potter, who appears to have had 
some prophetic vision of the coming preacher, and who was 
blessed by a broader view of God's providence and the Gos- 
pel of Christ than that held by other Christians of his day. 
At, or near, the time of Murray's advent to this country, 



*See "Life of Rev. John Murray." 



A PLEA FOR BETTER METHODS. 289 

Elhanan Winchester and others began to promulgate this gos- 
pel of love ; and from that time on there has been a steady 
growth of these views in all Christian lands, but more 
especially in the United States and Canada ; and here alone — 
except the incipient stages of organization in Scotland — has it 
taken an organized form, which is the only adequate means of 
propagating any system of religious truth. 

As an organized body, its growth, though steady, has been 
slow ; and because of this slowness of growth we are often 
asked: "If Universalism is true, why has it not been more 
greatly prospered ? " As though it were a mere question of 
numbers ! In answer to this inquiry we may ask, Why are 
all good things of slow growth? Especially, why are all of 
the greatest moral reforms of slow growth ? And why is it 
that all the best products of the soil must receive such careful 
cultivation, and mature so much more slowly than the noxious 
weed which springs up almost in a night ? Why does a nug- 
get of gold or some rare gem require ages for its formation, 
while nature's less valuable products are formed more quickly ? 
Why does " falsehood travel a mile while truth is putting on 
her boots?" Why does it take so long to bring about any 
valuable moral reform, while some movement of no particular 
value sweeps over the country in a few years ? Why were we, 
in this country, more than the third of a century in arousing 
the consciences of our American citizens to the enormity of 
African slavery, while some social vice will make conquest ©f 
the whole civilized world in one short season ? Why is it that 
the cultivation of temperance is so exasperatingly slow in the 
face of the fact that the Rum Juggernaut is crushing the lives 
and hopes of hundreds of thousands of people every year? 
Why is it that progress in this " irrepressible conflict " — this 
reform for which millions of voices daily and hourly plead 
most piteously, through tears, shame, wretchedness and woe — 
why is its growth so very slow, and only secured by the most 
faithful and devoted self-sacrifice ? The poet, Cowper, has 



29O CAUSES RETARDING GROWTH OF UNIVERSALISM : 

given us a line that answers this whole question. He says, 
" That which is excellent is of slow growth. 11 

Man's limitations, his blindness, his ignorance and supersti- 
tion are such that truth dawns but slowly upon his mental 
horizon. 

The average man is not thoughtful, is not logical in his think- 
ing ; besides, most false doctrines appeal more or less to the 
cupidity of men ; and some churches become popular, and 
once popular have a numerous following, without much 
regard to their theology. They are sought because of social 
prestige or political favor; and thus the cupidity of men — their 
love of place and popularity and their desire for applause — 
wins them to the support of the popular churches and with- 
holds them from the unpopular ones. But these motives are 
unworthy the true disciple of Christ and put the Master to 
open shame. If strength of numbers and wealth were to deter- 
mine the merits of a sect, then Catholicism would outrank us 
all. And heathenism, too, would show that all the Christians 
put together are but a mere bagatelle, compared with the 
whole race of man. Is it the merits of paganism that keeps 
its ranks swelled to such enormous proportions ? Is Catholi- 
cism, which denies the right of private judgment in matters 
of faith, to be compared with the glories of Protestantism ? 
Certainly the church that resorted to the inquisition and 
butchered the Huguenots cannot be properly compared with 
those having more of the spirit of Christ, who, when on the 
cross, prayed for His murderers, saying : " Father, forgive 
them, for they know not what they do." 

Numbers, popularity, wealth — these do not determine the 
truth or falsity of a doctrine. The old-time belief, " Vox 
populi vox Dei, 11 is false, therefore. At least it is only true 
when the people have been educated and awakened upon a 
given subject. It can only be said that " the voice of the 
people is the voice of God " when that "voice" is the result of 
movements which stir the people to think deeply upon the right- 



A PLEA FOR BETTER METHODS. 2QI 

eousness of a cause. Long years and even centuries may be 
required to secure this result. Before the war of the Slave- 
holders' Rebellion the average man was quite indifferent, if 
not positively opposed, to the overthrow of African slavery ; 
and it took the reformer, the statesman, the press and the 
pulpit long years to awaken the sleeping consciences of the 
people on this great question. Indeed the pulpit, itself, was 
asleep or apathetic, with a few noble exceptions, upon this ques- 
tion, which mightily concerned not only patriotism and the Amer- 
ican Republic, but religion itself Thus it is seen that truth 
resides for a long time with 7tiinorities. 

For many long years the followers of Christ were an ex- 
ceedingly small minority ; and even now, after nearly nineteen 
centuries of Christian endeavor, we still find the growth of 
Christianity to be slow. But that which gives the Christian 
hope and courage to press on, is the fact that it does grow ; 
and this is true concerning Universalism : it does grow. And 
the last year has witnessed a more decided increase in member- 
ship a?id achievenmit than for many years precedi?ig. But the 
most important reforms are never phenomenal in numerical 
following, until after lo?ig years of agitation. Lovejoy, Gar- 
rison and Phillips, in their anti-slavery struggles, were, no 
doubt, quite lonesome, and felt keenly what a prodigious, task 
it was to arouse the people and lift them out of their stolid 
indifference and apathy upon a question which they saw clearly 
was vital to the country's highest good. But it was only a 
question of time and the truth would gradually but surely 
dawn upon our people and slavery be made to bite the dust. 
To reach this goal, however, required a long and arduous 
struggle, because of the blindness and the lack of consci- 
entious thinking on the part of many of those whose duty 
it was to instruct the masses of our people. 

Politicians were not the only ones who stultified their con- 
sciences for the sake of social position, public favor and 
financial considerations. All that horde of insatiate self- 



292 CAUSES RETARDING GROWTH OF UNIVERSALISM : 

seekers, the lovers of ease and those who float with the cur- 
rent, pleaded for the "peculiar institution" to remain; and 
thus they threw themselves squarely across the advance move- 
ment which was being waged by the few. It is ever thus. 
And thus it has been, and yet is, to a great extent, with Uni- 
versalism. Ignorance, prejudice and selfishness invariably 
array themselves against it. The masses take their knowl- 
edge of it at second hand, and hence receive distorted views 
of it. For many years the Universalist Church had to meet the 
scorn and anathemas of nearly the combined forces of all 
the other churches ; and nobly has she borne her standard 
from height to height, until now she holds a most command- 
ing position and is able to maintain it against every foe. 

Universalism Hindered by False Doctrines. 

But the greatest obstacle in the way of the acceptance of 
Universalism is found in the false doctrines which thrive like 
ill weeds, and like ill weeds are more difficult to destroy than 
the good grain. Much of what are called Christian doctrines 
in some of our Protestant churches as well as in the Catholic 
Church is an admixture of heathen dogmas, traditions and 
superstitions, along with a partial presentation of the doctrines 
of Christ. Many things are taught in most Christian churches 
which never received the sanction of Christ and are not author- 
ized by the Bible. The Bible is made to teach doctrines 
altogether repugnant to the teaching of Christ, and claims 
are made in its behalf which it does not make for itself. 
This is accounted for by the fact that when, in an early day, 
kings and emperors were converted to Christianity by the 
mere edict of the converted ruler, his entire dominions were 
legislated into Christianity. Thus their connection with the 
church was a mere formality of law, and the people were in 
no proper sense instructed in the Christian doctrines. Hence 
through force of custom and early impressions, much of 
idolatry, superstition and heathen tradition clung like an in- 



A PLEA FOR BETTER METHODS. 293 

cubus to these Christian converts and held sway over the mind. 
Thus Christianity, corrupted and reduced largely to empty 
forms and ceremonies, swept on ; and the currents of religious 
thought, once headed in the wrong direction, soon received a 
new impetus from a superstitious reverence for the past. In 
this way Christianity was polluted and blended with paganism. 
Christianity is, itself, of slow growth. The influences it puts 
in motion are, like its author, " gentle," and, though powerful, 
win their way but gradually. An ignorant and superstitious 
age was incapable of realizing, or of perceiving the doctrines of 
Christ in their simplicity and purity. Even now we but 
dimly guess at what will some day break in splendor upon our 
more enlightened vision. Much more were the minds of the 
early Christian converts beclouded by the baser passions, 
which made many like unto the "beasts at Ephesus." Thus 
swayed by passion and dominated by the traditions of the 
past, what are known as the "dark ages" were ushered in, 
and ignorance and license held sway until the dawning of the 
reformation, when Martin Luther overturned many of the 
false doctrines and customs of the Church of Rome and 
secured the right of private judgment in matters of faith. But 
the popular beliefs were so ingrained that to wholly eradicate 
them, centuries of time were needed. Fear, too, has been a 
potent influence to sway the ignorant in times past, and to 
hold them to certain doctrines. Even now there are many 
people whose beliefs are so dominated by fear that they will 
not listen to those able to instruct them with better and more 
Scriptural views concerning the character of God and His 
government. They even hush the voice of God which wells up 
in their own souls and pleads for utterance, lest it send them 
to perdition ! They shut themselves up in their own little 
cells of religious exclusiveness and imagine they are on the 
"safe" side! They "quench the Spirit" and starve them- 
selves for want of the true bread of life. They show to the 
world thev have " hearts of stone " instead of "bowels of com- 



294 CAUSES RETARDING GROWTH OF UNIVERSALISM : 

passion," by their willingness to go to Heaven and enjoy its 
44 gold-paved streets," while untold millions of their fellow- 
beings are wailing in despair in regions of remorseless pain ! 
Even the heathen in his blindness shows more of the quality 
of God's mercy than they, by refusing to accept from the 
Andover missionaries a doctrine which requires them to wor- 
ship a God who has consigned their forefathers to intermi- 
nable woe. These people who talk so much about being on 
the "safe side" forget that the only safe side is the side of 
truth. Instead of accepting all the truth which the past has 
laid bare to us and all the truth which the still whiter light of 
the present offers us, they fix their gaze steadfastly on the past 
and worship that, never stopping to separate its fact from its 
fiction. Why, even in our day there are people otherwise in- 
telligent, but really ignorant in regard to the teaching of the 
Bible, who believe the sun revolves around the earth ; " For," 
say they, " does not the Bible speak of the rising and the set- 
ting of the sun ? and you are an infidel if you don't believe the 
Bible !" 

These reflections enable us to see that all great reforms are 
slow ; but after long years of agitation and of struggle with 
error and wrong the truth at length prevails. 

Other Hindrances and a Plea for Better Methods. 

In addition to the causes enumerated above, there are still 
other hindrances which have retarded the progress of Uni- 
versalism, some of which were inevitable, growing out of the 
nature of things ; yet others there are, for which the denomi- 
nation itself is chargeable. These we will pass under review, 
not with a purpose of criticism, but to the end that we may see 
better wherein we have failed, that we may rectify our mistakes, 
and that we may now direct our energies more successfully in 
the work of Church extension. That there have been, and 
still are, grave defects in our methods of work, and that cer- 
tain opinions were held which greatly retarded the progress of 



A PLEA FOR BETTER METHODS. 295 

our cause, we think no one will deny. Let us "know the 
worst and provide for it." The future must be made to yield 
better results than the past has done. Our experience should 
teach us wisdom. We must avoid our mistakes and improve 
our methods before we can secure that measure of success which 
will be creditable to a cause like ours. Among the causes 
which have hindered the work of our church and its growth, 
organically, we mention the following : 

/. For many years controversial preaching consumed so large a 
part of the minister's ti?ne that it led to a more or less one-sided 
presentation of Universalis m. 

II. The rebound fro?n old-time beliefs and ob?ioxious methods 
of partialis t churches led many to swi?ig to the opposite extreme 
of doubt, and, to some extent, of disregard for the services of the 
church. 

III. Prejudice against "orthodox" methods. Yes, strange 
as it may seem, many Universalists have prejudices against 
certain methods used by our sister churches, and this fact has 
greatly hindered our progress. We well remember, when just 
entering upon young manhood and enthusiastic for the work 
of the Sunday-school, how our ardor was dampened by some of 
the fathers opposing the enterprise on the ground that it 
savored of " orthodoxy ! " We have gotten bravely over that 
now, but there are other agencies and other methods which 
some of our people " fight shy of," for no other reason than that 
they have become identified with the work of sister churches ! 
O friends, let us put away our foolish prejudices and make use 
of all the agencies which experience has shown to be wise and 
helpful. Wesley said he did not believe in letting Satan have 
all the good tunes ; and we should not be willing to let other 
churches monopolize all the good methods of church enterprise. 

IV. The heresy that the mission of the Universalist Church 
was merely to leaven " Orthodoxy; " that its work was one of 
exegesis only ; and that when this work was fairly done, there 
would be no use for the Universalist Church, as a separate 



296 CAUSES RETARDING GROWTH OF UNIVERSALISM : 

organization, has greatly crippled our efforts. This heresy, we 
are glad to say, has entirely passed away, and the fact that the 
Universalist Church is here to stay was never so much felt as 
at the present moment: 

Down to the time when our church developed its present 
church government, and to some extent since then, these four 
general causes, supplemented, no doubt, by some minor ones, 
resulted in crippling the work of our church, by producing an 
indefiniteness of purpose and lack of unanimity in church en- 
terprises which largely paralyzed our efforts or rendered them 
measurably abortive. We shall here attempt to enumerate the 
principal ways in which these causes have retarded the work 
and growth of our church. 

1. They produced apathy or indifference on the fart of many 
in regard to conti?iuity of church work j and, as a result, ca?ne 
slip-shod methods or no methods, in the management of the affairs 
of both the Church and Sunday-school. 

2. They long delayed the formation of a p7-oper church polity 
or ecclesiasticism, which meant lack of system and enterprise 
and failure to secure adequate results from the efforts put forth. 
But since the formation of our present church govern- 
ment, about two decades ago, we have reached an era of prog- 
ress never before witnessed. During this period, system and 
order and better methods and laudable enterprises have been 
put on foot; but there still remains much to be done in adapt- 
ing our work to the system thus devised, and, many details of 
the work still require careful attention in order to secure the 
best results. 

3. They led to carelessness or indifference on the part of many 
in the matter of regular attendance at church. As this is a 
matter of vital interest to every church, we shall dwell at some 
length upon this evil. The disposition to remain away from 
the services of the church, for some trivial reason, such as bad 
weather, or the calling in of friends, and often for no reason, 
except love of ease and indifference to the work of the church, 



A PLEA FOR BETTER METHODS. 297 

has been, and still is, in some quarters, a great detriment to 
our cause. There are many reasons why we should accustom 
ourselves to being regularly in our places, at each service, 
when health will permit. It encourages the preacher. It 
enables him to preach better sermons. It makes him more 
hopeful of the success of the church. It encourages others 
who are regular in attendance. It encourages yet others to 
form the habit of regularity. It especially encourages the 
workers of the church and those who are bearing the chief 
burdens, financial and otherwise. But more than all this, we 
need to be at the service, that we may hear the sermon and 
engage in the work of the church and the devotions of the 
hour. The danger is that we may be thinking, or acting, as 
if the sermon were not for us, but for somebody else ! If we 
absent ourselves, we are likely to miss just the thing we most 
need to hear ; and the object of the service, so far as we are 
concerned, is defeated. We need to be present to engage in 
the worship of the Most High, to lift our hearts in prayer and 
our voices in praise and thanksgiving. It is thus due to the 
preacher, due to the congregation and due to ourselves that 
we attend regularly upon the services of the church, 

4. They have led many into indifference in regard to church 
7iiembership. This has been a great source of weakness in the 
Universalist Church. While one may be a good Christian and 
remain outside the church, he is needed inside ; and he needs 
to be i?iside, for many reasons. Primarily, the individual unit- 
ing with the church is helped by becoming identified with a 
good people, for a noble purpose — that of religious and social 
improvement and for the good of others. But no church, no 
organization, can succeed without a membership. A non- 
member may say he will do just as much work and give just 
as much money as though he were a member. This is often 
true, yet, other things being equal, the influence of the mem- 
ber will count for more than that of the non-member. A 
member usually feels a greater responsibility. He is a more 



290 CAUSES RETARDING GROWTH OF UNIVERSALISM : 

certain factor and more to be relied upon in the work of the 
church. He is not so liable, under slight provocation, to drift 
away from the church, nor from her teaching. He is anchored 
with a faith to a great purpose in life. 

Unless our believers are members, we cannot marshal our 
forces in our denominational year-book ; and by indifference 
to this matter our church has been shorn of much of her 
strength, and has failed to develop properly her spiritual 
powers in extending and widening these good influences for 
the betterment of the world. But in addition to all this, 
those who believe our doctrines, but refuse to join us, stand 
in the way of others joining. More or less, we unconsciously 
influence each other for good or for evil ; and we should let 
our influence be felt on the side of right and truth and not 
against these. By uniting with the church of our choice we 
put in motion influences that will bless others, help society, 
help our homes, help and encourage the pastor and make his 
labors more successful. Besides, there is an influence in 
numbers which makes for good, when placed on the side of 
right, which ought always to be utilized for the good of hu- 
manity. We plead not for numbers, merely that we may 
array them before the public, but we ought to make the most 
out of the means within our reach to secure true success ; 
and to this end, all true Universalists will desire to be counted 
for their doctrines and their church and not against them. 
It is no valid argument which some use as a reason for re- 
maining outside, that of the imperfections of church mem- 
bers, for as much can be said, and said truly, of all human 
organizations. It is the imperfections of humanity which 
make the church a necessity. Of course the church is not 
to foster the imperfections of its members, but to help them, 
as far as it can, to be more perfect by placing good influences 
about them and in their hearts. 

5. Personal Piety. In the sharp doctrinal controversy with 
sister churches we were driven to magnify that, and as a re- 



A PLEA FOR BETTER METHODS. 299 

suit other matters were passed by, or overlooked, until our 
custom has well-nigh barred us from giving that large measure 
of attention to individual 'consecration which its great 
importance demands. Hence we have not always emphasized 
the pronoun I in the question, " Lord, what shall I do to be 
saved?" This state of things largely grew out of the nature 
of the case ; and yet the fact remains, that the duty of per- 
sonal piety should henceforth receive that emphasis which its 
intimate relation to the work of a Christian church requires 
at our hands. Since the church can have only that degree of 
spiritual life which its individual members exemplify or em- 
body, it is to the individuals that we must look for that per- 
sonal consecration and faithfulness in Christian endeavor, 
without which, the church is but an empty name, a body with- 
out a soul. 

6. Worship. One of the primary objects of the church 
service is worship ; and yet, by reason of what it has already 
been necessary to say, this important matter has remained, 
in some large degree, in the background. Not that our people 
have not personal piety and the devotional spirit — nothing of 
the kind ; but we mean to say these virtues are not nearly so 
marked, nor so general, as they should be. In these matters 
we feel there has been much progress in recent years, and we 
trust there will yet be larger, and still larger growth, in the 
near future. 

7. Bible reading and family devotions. Desirable as these 
agencies are in the cultivation of a correct Christian de- 
portment, many have neglected to utilize them to any large 
extent. Their benefits are many and incalculable. As "the 
home is the heart of the world," the most potent influences 
should be used there to raise up good citizens and members 
of society. What more potential for good than the precepts 
of the Bible and the matchless life of Christ ? When not 
conducted with too much formality, monotony or prolixity, 
devotional exercises form an excellent beginning and inspira- 



300 CAUSES RETARDING GROWTH OF UNIVERSALIS*! : 

tion for the day's work; and children thus accustomed to 
these brief devotional seasons, will, as they ripen into maturer 
years, look back upon them with pleasant and hallowed 
memories. 

8. Lack of proper religious training of our youth in the inter- 
ests of our church has shorn us of a large part of the strength 
and usefulness which we had a right to enjoy. But we see in 
the near future a marked improvement in this direction. The 
attention which our denomination is giving to the organiza- 
tion of Young People's Missionary Associations, and in other 
ways enlisting our youth in the work of our church, has a 
promising outlook ; and we heartily welcome all such move- 
ments as shall deepen and extend the spirit of self-sacrifice and 
devotion to our great cause on the part of our young people. 
These influences should be exerted by all our Christian 
homes. But is it not too true that often the children are 
neglected in their religious training ? Have not many parents 
practically said : " I will not ' bias ' the mind of my child by 
teaching him my views of religion and theology ? When his 
mind is sufficiently matured he will judge for himself what is 
right and what is wrong ! " O parents, think you that you 
would pursue this course in any other direction concerning 
your child's interests ? Do you not bias the mind of your 
child in favor of industry, in favor of good business habits, in 
favor of education and every other good thing ? Neglect 
your boy's education and think you his judgment, when grown 
to maturity, will be better fitted to determine the value of an 
education ? And what of the lost opportunity ? Let him 
grow up in idleness, and will he then know best what he ought 
to do for his welfare ? Neglect your boy's religious training 
and be sure he will become "biased" in some direction 
greatly to his hurt. If you do not teach him, some one else 
will. If he does not learn these moral and religious lessons 
in the home, he will learn something else on the street and 
elsewhere. If he is not taught a reasonable religion, he is 



A PLEA FOR BETTER METHODS. 30I 

.likely to learn an unresaonable one, or, it may be bald in- 
fidelity or irreligion. 

Kind parents, let me whisper in your ears what I believe to 
be true, that it is your duty to give your child the best you 
know in religion and theology, as well as in everything else. 
And it is your duty and my duty to know what is best in this 
direction, to the extent of our opportunities. Is this saying 
too much ? What says the Scriptures ? " Train up a child in 
the way it should go, and when it is old it will not depart 
therefrom." This is the rule, though we may not have the 
wisdom to thus train the child ; and even when thus trained, 
here and there one may leave the path of rectitude ; yet the 
rule will hold good. There is safety in no other course ; and 
we can not shake off the responsibility growing out of the 
parental relation, much as we may desire to do so. We may 
not succeed in thus training the child, but it is worth the trial. 
Our discretion will often be put to the test ; but we may say 
here, that mere precept is not training. " Train up a child." 
Obedience in all things reasonable ; obedience in learning the 
lessons of truth inculcated in the Bible, will tell in after years 
upon the character of your child, especially if this work is 
done affectionately, and supported by a worthy example. But 
it should be begun early in life to secure the best results. 
" Train up a child" Do not leave it until it becomes willful 
and unmanageable, but begin in infancy. 

9. That the missionary spirit is much less marked among us 
than it should be is another resultant of the causes named ; 
and to this lack we attribute much of our slow progress in 
organizing our forces and putting into effectiveness the means 
otherwise at our command. Out of personal piety and thor- 
ough conviction of the truth of the gospel comes the mission- 
ary spirit, the spirit of love for humanity and a willingness to 
serve others. While the Universalist Church has always been 
in some measure a missionary church, yet this spirit has not 
been prominent, and it has shed but a flickering and sickly 



302 CAUSES RETARDING GROWTH OF UNIVERSALISM : 

light, compared with what it should have done. A small 
part of our membership has, indeed, felt the missionary 
impulse, but for lack of plan or method, but little has been 
done. We shall never get on satisfactorily until we realize 
that Universalism is the heart of Christ's gospel, and until 
it is preached as a positive conviction, and made to do the 
work which His redemptive truth is intended to do for the 
blessing of mankind. 

Universalism, when presented in all its length and breadth 
and depth and height, must accomplish the same great ends 
which the Master meant His truth should secure. Universal- 
ism is true and right, but our imperfect apprehension of it, and 
our lack of method and want of unction in presenting it, cause 
our efforts to fail of that large measure of success which we 
might otherwise achieve. The many among us need to be 
more and more touched with the Master's divine compassion 
for those who need our kindly ministrations. His was no cant- 
ing pretence. What He taught He wrought. What He prayed 
for He labored to secure. His life was lived in the interest 
of His fellow-men. 

10. The rebound from Partialism left upon the borders of 
our Zion much of doubt and skepticism, which it has been 
hard to counteract. Even to-day, we feel that we need a 
preaching which includes more of the evidences of Christian- 
ity, more stress upon the positive side of the truths we hold. 
Doubt and denial are not constructive : negations are not Uni- 
versalism. It requires positive convictions to build up a 
strong and permanent church, and to enable that church to 
perform the work of a true Christian body. On this line let 
the work go forward, and it will be easy to forecast the en- 
largement of our borders and a redoubling of our energies 
with each new achievement. But only on this line can we suc- 
ceed. We cannot afford to lower our standard for friend nor foe. 

ii. Another resultant of the causes named is the lack of 
sufficient aggressiveness. We ought to be more alert. We 



A PLEA FOR BETTER METHODS. 303 

ought to "carry the war into Africa." We ought to let our 
light shine more and more. We ought to feel more and 
more that our church is called to a great and mighty work. 
If our doctrines become the popular doctrines, our church 
will have a great work to perform in guiding and directing the 
religious forces of the age. It is no child's play we have in 
hand. As the old systems pass away, are we prepared to wield 
Christian Universalism to the betterment of the world in the 
midst of the sin and crime and all the clashing interests of 
surging humanity? O, what a fearful responsibility is ours, as 
a church, as we approach the overthrow of the decaying sys- 
tems ! Is our church sufficient for these things? Universal- 
ism we claim to be the best interpretation of Christianity ; and 
if Christianity is to survive, we believe that it will breathe the 
breath of Universalism. Will its life be filled with all the 
vigor necessary to be a beacon light and guiding force to all the 
natio?is of the earth ? These are questions that the times are 
preparing for us to answer. 

May the All-Father help us to prepare our church to take 
her rightful position in all the advancements and in all the 
emergencies that may arise out of the needs of a common 
humanity, is our sincere prayer. 

Universalism in Other Churches. 

In what we have been saying concerning the slow growth 
of Universalism, we have been speaking of organized Univer- 
salism, only. Universalism is by no means limited to the 
Universalist Church. It has permeated and honey-combed 
all, or most of the other churches, as the Methodist, the Con- 
gregationalism the Episcopal and others, while the Unitarian 
Church quite generally holds these views; also many of the 
"New-lights," the Hixite Friends and some of the Tunkers. 
In fact, there is scarcely a Protestant church but has within 
its pale those who hold to, and believe in, this inspiring hope ! 
And we here note the fact that almost every Partialist con- 



304 CAUSES RETARDING GROWTH OF UNIVERSALISM : 

trives to construe the gospel so as to include all his friends, 
all who are near and dear to him; and we conclude, therefore, 
that probably there is no one, who thinks and feels deeply upon 
the subject, but in his inmost soul entertains this hope, even 
though it never finds utterance from the lips. The soul speaks 
more truly than the mouth, and this hope illumines the souls 
of oh, how many thousands outside of our church. 

If the Universalist Church could draw within its folds all 
whose preferences and hopes ought to lead them to affiliate 
with us, she would be the strongest and most numerous body 
of Christians in this country. Hundreds and thousands are 
believers in this gospel of " glad tidings/' and yet they do not 
know it, because they do not understand Universalism ; and 
being prejudiced against us, through " Orthodox " preaching, 
they never come to learn what Universalism is. The fact is, the 
trend of the whole Christian world is toward Universalism. 

Statistics of Universalism. 

Even organized Universalism has a respectable standing. 
Statistics show that in numerical strength the Universalists 
are the sixth denomination in America. Their General Con- 
vention holds funds amounting to $250,000; funds held by 
State Conventions for benevolent work, and for church mis- 
sions, $200,000 ; assets of Publishing House, $75,000 ; value 
of property invested in schools and colleges, $2,700,000 ; 
value of church property, $7,560,000 ; Sunday-school mem- 
bership, 54,000 ; number of parishes, 900 ; number of minis- 
ters, 720 ; estimated number in regular attendance upon the 
Universalist ministry, in the United States, 337,000. There 
are three theological schools with about eighty students in 
preparation for the ministry. There never was a period of 
such real prosperity enjoyed by the Universalist Church as 
the year 1887. Our forces are better organized and more 
devoted to the work than ever before in the history of our 
church ; and our entire body is moving on harmoniously and 
with an increasing enthusiasm as the years pass by ! May we 
all have a zeal, inspired of Heaven, to press forward in the 
noble work of our church, is our earnest prayer. 



CHAPTER XXVII. 



RELIGIOUS MISCELLANY. 



Christ and the Heathen Philosophers. 



BY REV. I. D. WILLIAMSON, D. D. 

Before the introduction of the Christian religion among the 
Gentiles, the only light which they enjoyed upon the subject 
of morality was drawn from the teachings of the heathen 
philosophers. We may reckon as standing preeminent among 
these, Plato, Aristotle, Socrates, Lycurgus, Seneca and Cicero. 
Now, if you examine the moral teachings of these wise men, 
you will find them to fall infinitely below the instruction of 
Christ in point of real purity and excellence. You may take, 
if you will, all the writings of those venerable sages — for such, 
indeed, they were in their day — and select from them the best 
of all their precepts, so as to form a code of morals which 
shall embrace the excellence of the whole with the evil of 
none, and compared with the knowledge of Christ Jesus our 
Lord, the superiority of His instructions will appear conspicu- 
ously in the fact, that while they labored with commendable 
perseverance to make clean the outside of the cup and platter, 
He cleaned that which was within. They endeavored to purify 
the stream in its wanderings, but He went to the fount 
whence it issued, and purged out its corruptions. In short, 
they gave rules for the regulation of the hands, but He touched 
the heart, and regulated the spring of action. 



306 RELIGIOUS MISCELLANY. 

I said these philosophers gave rules for the regulation of the 
hands. They did so. But even these were imperfect and 
often corrupt. These men were in their day burning and 
shining lights in a dark world, and did as much as the wisdom 
of this world has ever done towards forming a perfect code 
of morals adapted to all nations and grades of society. I 
would not disturb their ashes, nor mark the defects in their 
systems, were it not that skepticism in these latter days has 
dragged them from the tomb and arrayed them in opposition 
to Jesus Christ our Lord, and justice to ourselves and His cause 
demands an examination at our hands. 

Plato, with all his wisdom, taught that parents might law- 
fully sacrifice their children ; and Socrates, that a lie was in 
many instances to be preferred to the truth. Aristotle taught 
that it was lawful and expedient to expose children under cer- 
tain circumstances, and Lycurgus encouraged theft by an 
express law for that purpose. Seneca and Cicero plead for 
self-murder, and are said to have carried about with them in- 
struments to that purpose. In truth it may be said of them 
all, that they encouraged by precept and by example an un- 
limited gratification of the sensual appetites and an indulgence 
of the most unnatural lusts. 

Their practice in many instances corresponded with their 
theory. Cicero declares that they were never able to reform 
either themselves or their followers. Lucian pronounces them 
a body of adulterers. Plutarch says that Plato and even 
Socrates was as inconsistent and intemperate as any slave ; 
that Aristotle was a fop and a destroyer of female innocence. 
Quinctillian asserts that the philosophers of his time were 
hypocrites, who concealed the most vicious lives under an 
austere look and a singular dress. Now compare these teach- 
ings and these examples with the pure precepts and God-like 
examples of Christ, and how low, how groveling and con- 
temptible do they appear ! On the one hand, you see enforced 
and illustrated by a living example that rigid chastity which 



RELIGIOUS MISCELLANY. 307 

allows not even an impure look, and on the other, carnal lust 
engaged in scenes of debauchery with no restraint in theory 
or practice. Was it bigotry in the apostle to count these 
scenes of heathen philosophy loss and dross for the knowledge 
of Jesus ? If so, may I forever be a bigot. 



All should ponder and commit to memory these true and 
beautiful words of Susan Coolidge : 

EVERY DAY A FRESH BEGINNING. 



" Every day is a fresh beginning, 
Every morn is the world made new. 
You who are weary of sorrow and sinning, 
Here is a beautiful hope for you ; 
A hope for me and a hope for you. 

All the past things are passed and over, 
The tasks are done and the tears are shed. 
Yesterday's errors let yesterday cover ; 
Yesterday's wounds, which smarted and bled, 
Are healed with the healing which night has shed. 

Yesterday now is passed forever ; 

Bound up in a sheaf which God holds tight, 

With glad days, and sad days, and bad days which never 

Shall visit us more with their bloom and their blight, 

Their fullness of sunshine or sorrowful night. 

Let them go since we cannot relive them, 
Cannot undo and cannot atone ; 
God in His mercy receive, forgive them — 
Only the new days are our own ; 
To-day is ours, and to-day alone ! 

Every day is a fresh beginning : 
Listen, my soul, to the glad refrain, 
And spite of old sorrow and older sinning, 
And puzzles forecasted and possible pain, 
Take heart with the day and begin again. 



308 RELIGIOUS MISCELLANY. 

Turn, turn, my wheel ! What is begun 

At daybreak, must at dark be done ; 

To-morrow will be another day. 

Haste, haste, my wheel ! Too soon, too soon, 

The noon will be the afternoon, 

Too soon to-day be yesterday !" 



WHY THIS LONGING? 

Why this longing, this forever sighing 
For the far-off unattained and dim, 

While the beautiful, all round thee lying, 
Offers up its low, perpetual hymn ? 

Would'st thou listen to its gentle teaching, 
All thy restless yearnings it would still, 

Leaf and flower and laden bee are preaching, 
Thine own sphere, though humble, first to fill. 

Poor indeed thou must be, if around thee 
Thou no ray of light and joy canst throw, 

If no silken cord of love hath bound thee 
To some little world through weal and woe ; 

If no dear eyes thy fond love can brighten, 
No fond voices answer to thine own, 

If no brother's sorrow thou canst lighten, 
By daily sympathy and gentle tone. 

Not by deeds that gain the world's applauses, 
Not by works that win thee world renown, 

Not by martyrdom or vaunted crosses, 

Canst thou win and wear the immortal crown, 

Daily struggling, though unloved and lonely, 
Every day a rich reward will give ; 

Thou wilt find by hearty striving only, 
And truly loving, thou canst truly live. 



RELIGIOUS MISCELLANY. 309 

Dost thou revel in the rosy morning, 

When all nature hails the Lord of light, 
And his smile, nor low nor lofty scorning, 

Gladdens hall and hovel, vale and height ! 

Other hands may grasp the field and forest, 

Proud proprietors in pomp may shine, 
But with fervent love, if thou adorest, 

Thou art wealthier — all the world is thine. 

Yet if through earth's wide domain thou rovest, 

Sighing that they are not thine alone, 
Not those fair fields, but thyself thou lovest, 

And their beauty and thy wealth are gone. 

—Harriet Winslow Sewall. 



THE TAPESTRY WEAVERS. 



" Let us take to our hearts a lesson, 
No lesson can braver be, 
From the ways of the tapestry weavers, 
On the other side of the sea. 

Above their heads the pattern hangs ; 

They study it with care ; 
The while their fingers deftly work, 

Their eyes are fastened there. 

They tell this curious thing besides 
Of the patient, plodding weaver : 

He works 011 the zurong side evermore, 
But works for the right side ever. 

It is only when the weaving stops, 
And the web is loosed and turned, 

That he sees his real handiwork — 
That his marvelous skill is learned. 



310 RELIGIOUS MISCELLANY. 

Ah, the sight of its delicate beauty — 
How it pays him for all its cost ; 

No rarer, daintier work than his 
Was ever done by the frost. 

The years of men are the looms of God, 
Let down from the place of the sun, 

Wherein we are weaving always, 
Till the mystic web is done. 

Weaving blindly, but weaving surely, 

Each for himself his fate ; 
We may not see how the right side looks, 

We can only weave and wait." 

— J. Chandler Melvin. 



OVERRULED. 



The threads our hands in blindness spin 
No self-determined plan weaves in; 
The shuttle of the unseen powers 
Works out a pattern not as ours. 

Ah! small the choice of him who sings, 
What sound shall leave the smitten strings, 
Fate holds and guides the hand of art, 
The singer's is the servant's part. 

The wind-harp chooses not the tone 
That through its trembling thread is blown; 
The patient organ cannot guess 
What hand its passive keys shall press. 

Through wish, resolve, and act, our will 
Is moved by undreamed forces still; 
And no man measures in advance 
His strength with untried circumstance. 



RELIGIOUS MISCELLANY. 3II 

As streams take hue from shade and sun, 
As runs the life, the song must run; 
But, glad or sad, to his good end 
God grant the varying notes may tend. 

—John G. Whittier. 



BE TRUE. 



Thou must be true thyself, 

If thou the truth vvould'st teach; 

Thy soul must overflow, if thou 
Another's soul would'st reach: 

It needs the overflow of heart 
To give the lips full speech. 

Think truly, and thy thoughts 
Shall the world's famine feed; 

Speak truly, and each word of thine 
Shall be a fruitful seed; 

Live truly, and thy life shall be 

A great and noble creed. 



Horatio Bonar. 



THERE'S DANGER. 

Write it on the liquor store, 
Write it on the prison door, 
Write it on the gin-shop fine, 
Write — aye, write this truthful line: 
"Where there's drink, there's danger." 



312 RELIGIOUS MISCELLANY. 

Write it on the work-house gate, 
Write it on the school-boy's slate, 
Write it on the copy-book, 
That the young may on it look: 
" Where there's drink, there's danger." 

Write it on the church-yard mound, 
Where the drink-slain dead are found: 
Write it on the gallows high, 
Write it for all passers-by: 
"Where there's drink, there's danger." 

Write it underneath your feet, 
Up and down the busy street; 
Write it for the great and small, 
In the mansion, cot and hall: 
" Where there's drink, there's danger." 

Write it on the ships which sail, 
Borne along by storm and gale; 
Write it in large letters plain, 
O'er our land and past the main: 
" Where there's drink, there's danger." 



HAS THY BROTHER FALLEN ? 

Has thy brother fallen 

In temptation's hour, 
Overcome by Satan, 

Conquered by his power? 
Cease thy cold upbraiding, 

Censure not his tears: 
Love will save the sinner 

Never won by sneers. 

Thou art on thy journey 

Where the snares are spread, 

And hast need of watching 
Both thy heart and head. 

If His grace be slighted 
In the hour of need, 



RELIGIOUS MISCELLANY. 313 

Thy own strength is weaker 
Than a bruised reed. 

Exercise the mercy 

Which thy God bestows; 
Never wound thy brother, 

Nor increase his woes. 
Charity is holy — 

'Tis the Gospel leaven — 
Charity is Christ-like, 

Charity is Heaven. 

If thou would'st be happy, 

Kindly speak of all; 
Breathe no bitter slander 

O'er thy brother's fall; 
Thou thyself may'st stumble; 

Learn the law of love, 
And the earth shall brighten 

Into Heaven above. 

-J. H. 



ALWAYS A RIVER TO CROSS. 



There's always a river to cross, 

Always an effort to make, 
If there's anything good to win, 

Any rich prize to take; 
Yonder's the fruit we crave, 

Yonder the charming scene; 
But deep and wide, with a troubled tide, 

Is the river that lies between. 

For, rougher the way that we take, 

The stouter the heart and the nerve, 
The stones in our path we break, 

Xor e'er from our impulse swerve; 
For the glory we hope to win 

Our labors we count no loss; 
'Tis folly to pause and murmur because 

Of the river we have to cross. 

—Anon. 



314 APPLICATION PROFESSION OF FAITH COVENANT 

We here present, for convenience of reference, our Profession of 
Faith, a form of Church Covenant, and a form of Application for 
Church Membership, etc. 

APPLICATION FOR CHURCH MEMBERSHIP. 

Confessing myself a child of God, and sincerely desiring co honor 
and illustrate that sacred relationship by a life at once godly and 
humane, I hereby ask to be enrolled among the members of the 
Christian Church, as a follower of Jesus Christ, whom I accept as the 
true Interpreter and Example of Divine Sonship, pledging my 
purpose to serve Him faithfully in the spirit of a willing disciple. 

Name 

Residence 

THIS CARD MAY BE MAILED OR HANDED TO THE PASTOR. 



THE WINCHESTER PROFESSION OF FAITH. 

+ 

I. We believe that the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New 
Testaments contain a revelation of the character of God, and of the 
duty, interest, and final destination of mankind. 

II. We believe that there is one God, whose nature is love, re- 
vealed in one Lord Jesus Christ, by one holy spirit of grace, who 
will finally restore the whole family of mankind to holiness and 
happiness. 

III. We believe that holiness and true happiness are inseparably 
connected, and that believers ought to be careful to maintain order 
and practice good works, for these things are good and profitable 
unto men. 

COVENANT OF THE AKRON UNIVERSALIST CHURCH. 

Cherishing these truths, we do solemnly promise and covenant, in 
the presence of God and the brethren here assembled, that we will 
work with this Church in the spirit of Christian fellowship and love, 
that we will devoutly endeavor to conform our lives to the standard 



OF THE AKRON UNIVERSALIST CHURCH. 315 

of the Christian virtues of faith, hope and charity. We do solemnly 
covenant and promise that we will not unnecessarily absent ourselves 
from the public religious services of this Church, and that we will do 
whatever within us lies to promote the aims and purposes for which 
the Christian Church exists, to the end that we may grow in grace, 
and in the knowledge of the truth, remembering that, without holi- 
ness, no man shall see the Lord, nor forgetting that, in keeping of 
His commandments, there is great reward. 



DAYS OF SPECIAL OBSERVANCE RECOMMENDED BY THE 
UNIVERSALIST GENERAL CONVENTION. 

1. Christmas Sunday. 

2. Easter Sunday, a Service of Recognition. 

3. The third Sunday in May, as Educational Sunday. 

4. The second Sunday in June, as Children's Sunday. 

5. The first Sunday in October, as Memorial Sunday. 

6. The first Sunday in November, as All-Souls' Day. 

These several Sundays to be observed each year by Pastors and 
Churches for the purposes designated by the topics named. 



$l6 THE WINE-GLASS. 



THE WINE-GLASS. 

Who hath woe? Who hath sorrow? 

Who hath contentions? Who 

hath wounds without cause? 

Who hath redness of eyes? 

They that tarry long at the 

wine. They that go to 

seek mixed wine. Look 

not thou upon the 

wine when it is red, 

when it giveth its 

color in the 

CUP; 

when it 

moveth itself 

aright. 

At 

the last 

it biteth like a 

serpent, and stingeth like an adder. 



INDEX. 



Aion-Aionios — Everlasting, Eternal, etc., Examined 36 

AU-Souls' Day, 315. Are we too Sectarian? 78. 
Atonement, The, 29. 

Baptism and the Lord's Supper 29 

Bible Proofs of Universalism 43 

God's Goodness, 44. God's Almightiness, 45. God's 
Knowledge, 45. God's Nature, 45. Sin Shall be 
Destroyed, 47. The Devil and His Work Shall be 
Destroyed, 48. Death Abolished and Pain and 
Sorrow No More, 48. Death and Hades Cast into 
Lake of Fire, 48. Will God Cast off Forever ? 48. 
God's Punishments Remedial, 49. Will God keep 
Anger Forever ? 50. Is God Unmerciful ? 50. 
Will God's Mercy be Withdrawn? 51. All 
Families and Nations Shall be Blessed, 51. 
A Gospel Feast for All, 51. All Things in 
Christ, 52. All Shall Fear, Glorify and Serve 
Him, 52. Objection Answered — A.ll Will Not 
Come to Christ, 52. Confessing to God, 53. 
Confessing Christ, 53. Salvation for All, 54. 
God, Savior of All, 55. W T ills Salvation of All, 55.' 
Christ, Savior of World, 55. Can Death Separate 
from Love of God ? 55. All Shall be Taught of 
God, 56. God Shall be All in All, 56. Will 
God's Word Accomplish His Pleasure? 56. The 
Dead Shall be Raised Incorruptible, 57. The 
Restoration of All, 57. Wonderful Vision of St 
John the Divine, 57. 

Bible, (The) and How to Read and Study It 263 

Can We be Happy in Heaven with Friends in Hell ? 4, 5 

Causes Retarding Growth of Universalism, and a Plea for 
Better Methods of Work, 288. Four General 
Causes, 295, 296. Other Hindrances, 294. Reg- 



3l8 INDEX. 

ular Attendance at Church, 296. Church Mem- 
bership, 297. Personal Piety, 298. Worship, 299. 
Bible Reading and Family Devotions, 299. Reli- 
gious Training of Youth, 300. Lack of Aggres- 
siveness, 302. Doubt and Skepticism, 302. Uni- 
versalism in Other Churches, 303. Statistics, 304. 
Choice of a Profession, The 237 

What Shall I Choose for My Life Work ? 237. Call- 
ing of the Minister One of the Noblest, 238. Its 
Work the Noblest, 244. 

Children's Sunday 315 

Christian Cooperation 90 

Churches Looking After the Rich Avenues — Chicago 

Interior 85 

Church, The : — 

Joining, 150. Management of the Business, 153. 
Organization, 147. Records and Statistics, 283. 
Church and Pulpit — Relation to Drink Traffic 92 

Relation to the Sunday Question, 103. The Wine 
Question, 103. Use of Alcoholic Beverages 
Doubled in Last Twenty-Six Years, 95, 96. Dr. 
Cantwell on " The Liquor Question," 95. Address 
of Board of Bishops of M. E. Church on Liquor 
Traffic, 98. License, Taxation and Regulation, 
99. All Temperance People Must Unite in One 
Body, 100. 70,000 Gallons of Liquor Sent with 
Each Missionary, 101. Bishop Mallalieu on Co- 
operation of Churches Against Drink Evil, 102. 
Catholic Examiner on Increase of the Drink Cus- 
tom, 102. Was the Wine Made by the Savior at 
Cana Fermented ? 104. Opinion of Dr. Ellis, 
104. Opinion of Rev. J. S. Palmer, 105. Com- 
munion Wine — How to Prepare It, 105. Two 
Kinds of Wine Used by the Ancients, 104. 



INDEX. 319 

Conditions of Success for the Universalist Church 112 

Our Church Must be Progressive, 113. Must Ad- 
here to Old Truths, 114. Must be Christian, 115. 
Must be in Earnest, 115. Must have Wise 
Methods, 116. Must be a Missionary Church, 
118. Must have Financial Liberality, 120. The 
Banner on " A Neglected Duty," 121. Dr. At- 
wood's Opinion, 122. 

Conference Meeting, The 260 

Conference Prayer-Meeting, The 258 

Death No Bar to God's Love 33 

Debt of Religion to Science and of Science to Religion. 274 

Denial not Universalism 1 

Doubt — Its True Province ■ 6 

Drink Habit Doubled in Twenty-Six Years 95 

Educational Sunday 315 

Evil— Sin 46 

Government Statistics on the Drink Question. 96, 97 

Holland, Dr., on a New Dispensation 89 

Hume and Descarte 6 

Immortality — The Words Denoting It 37, 38 

Influence of the Church on Society n 

Judgment Day 40 

Laity — The Work of. 248 

Woman's Centenary Association, 255. 

Memorial Sunday 315 

Murray Hears Relly Preach, 288. Came to America in 

1770, 288. 
Missionary Effort: — 

The True Motive of, 123. Fear of Hell Not the 
True Motive, 123. There is No Hell but Sin, 
125. Sin a Present Hell, 126. The Real Mo- 
tive is Zeal for Humanity, 128. 

Pew Rents and Subscriptions 155 

Plea for Thorough Organization 148 



320 INDEX. 

Punishment after Death 33 

Punishment — Its Certainty, 35. Its Benevolent 
Purpose, 25. Its Nature and Office, 35. Of the 
Murderer, 34. Remedial, 49. 
Pulpit, The :— 

Christian Advocate on Aim to be Attractive, 215. 
Rev. Mr. Laing on Ministry, 216. Weakness and 
Power of Pulpit, 218. Preach Christ, 221. 
Standard for Minister and Layman, 222. How to 
Preach, 224. Effectiveness, 224. Preachers 
Who Wear Out, 225. Diffusive Preaching, 226. 
Keep the Faith, 227. Directness, 228. Pastoral 
Visits, 228. Keep Out of Ruts, 228. Moral 
Power, 229. A Word to Ministers, 230. Why ■ 
Don't the Pastor Come? 232. Pastoral and Ser- 
monic Habits, 233. Humor and Sermon, 235. 
Prompt Payment of Salaries, 152. 

Relation of Church to Poorer Classes 85 

Relation of our Colleges to our Church 107 

Relations of Pastor and People 151 

Restoration of all Things 12, 57 

Resurrection, The 3^39 

Revised Version on Matthew xxv : 46 37 

Revivals, Objections to, 71. Opinion of Gospel Banner, 

71. The True, Rev. E. F. Temple, 73. 
Religious Miscellany : — 

Every Day a Fresh Beginning, 307. Why this 
Longing? 308. Has Thy Brother Fallen ? 312. 
There is Danger, 311. The Wine Cup, 316. 
Christ and the Heathen Philosophers, 305. 
The Tapestry Weavers, 309. Be True, 311. Has 
Thy Brother Fallen? 312. Overruled, 310. 
Always a River to Cross, 313. Covenant of the 
Akron Church, 314. Days of Special Observance, 
3i5- 



INDEX. 321 

Sacramental Wine — How to Prepare it 105 

Salvation is from Sin 47 

Salvation — From What ? 24, 25 

Shall We be Revived? 71 

State and Local Work : — 

The Circuit System, 201. The State Superintendent 
and His Work, 203, 204. Our Opportunities, 
205. An Organizer and Leader, 206. Mission- 
ary and Executive Phases, 207. 
Sunday-School, The: — 

Its Organization and Management, 161. The Ideal 
Sunday-School, 161. How to Teach, 162. What 
Shall We Teach, 164, 165. Preparation, 165. 
Illustration, 167. Primary Teacher, 168. The 
Cheery Teacher, 170. Teach How to Study, 171. 
Qualification of Teachers, 171. How to Dismiss, 
172. How to Secure Punctuality, 172. Large 
Numbers No Evidence of Success, 173. Study 
Your Scholars, 173. Visit Your Scholars, 175. 
Helping Scholars to Christian Decision, 177. 
Class and Pew, 177. Model Teacher, 179. Con- 
cerning Substitutes, 179. Pastors and Superin- 
tendents. 177, 180. Helping the Superintendent, 
181. Superintendent and Pastor in School, 183. 
Politeness, 184. Be Punctual, 184. The Child 
in the Church, 184. Parental Example, 185. 
Not Worth Raising, 188. Encourage the Chil- 
dren in Church-Going, 188. Visit Other Schools, 
188. Example, 189. Care for All, 189. Outcry 
Against the Sunday-School, 189. Prizes May be 
Useful, 192. Parents, Where are Your Boys? 193. 
Present Needs, 196. Dead Bible Class, 186. 
Universalism : — 

Hindered by False Doctrines, 292. Other Hin- 
drances to, 294. Causes Retarding Universalism, 



322 INDEX. 

288. Admits no Failure on God's Part, 27. 
Bible Proofs of, 43-58. If True, Why Preach It ? 
59-70. In Other Churches, 303. What is It? 
13, 18-42. What It is Not, 15, 17. Statistics, 304. 

Universalists — Their Profession of Faith 19, 314 

Their Belief in One God, in the Bible, 19-21. In 
Christ, His Divinity, not Deity, 28, 29. Disbelief 
in the Trinity, 28. Disbelief in Probation, End- 
less Hell, Total Depravity, Personal Devil, Satan : 
These Terms Defined, 32. Belief in Prayer, Re- 
pentance, Conversion, Forgiveness : These Terms 
Defined, 31. May Change Profession of Faith, 
21, 22. Inspiration of the Bible, 19, 20. God, 
the Father of All Men, 22, 54, 55. Holiness and 
True Happiness, 22, 23. Baptism and the Lord's 
Supper, 29. Atonement, 29-31. Faith and 
Works, 23. Sometimes Classed as Unbelievers, 18. 

Unemployed, The 87 

Week-day Work of the Christian Church 261 

Winchester, Elhanan 288 

Who Are You ? And What is Your Life ? 1 

Are You a Universalist ? 1. Are You an Evangeli- 
cal Christian ? 3. Who are " Evangelists : " The 
Word Gospel Defined, 3. Whittier's Divine Com- 
passion, 5. A Skeptic, 5. 

Young People's Missionary Association 130 

Opportunities of the Association, 142. Preamble 
and Articles First and Second of Constitution and 
By-Laws, 145. Circular Letter to Ministers and 
Others, 145, 146. 



H 



«$ 






T ' 



Wm 




:&sn 



m 



&^m 




